The King's Circle
by hailsjA2
Summary: He's now on top. They are all pawns in his game, but without their help he never would've made it. Haruhi and the other's find it in their best interest to help their shadow king, but at what costs? What is Kyoya hiding? Pulling off heists is now the only thing they know, and why should they stop?
1. Chapter 1

Don't Own Characters***

Enjoy~

* * *

Haruhi sat blankly staring out into the abyss of ocean that stretched far beyond her eyes could see. The sun sat high in the clouded stratosphere of sky above. This was her last day of freedom before reality rained down on her oh so wonderful parade. She sighed heavily at the realization, but continued to look out from her balcony.

Since graduating Ouran Academy her life had changed quite drastically aside from the company she kept. They were her only constant, and the only thing that resisted the change. She strummed her fingers eloquently along the balcony railing in a melodic tune that she remembered Tamaki playing at some point and had even bothered to teach her a few times. She only knew bits and pieces of the ballad but it was a tie to the bachelor that kept them together.

"Haruhi?" a familiar voice sounded from behind her and allowed her to snap out of her reverie.

She smiled at the face that met hers. His dark grey eyes stoic as ever, deceiving her of any emotion that may be present. "Yes Mori-senpai?" she asked keeping her voice light and bubbly.

He placed his hand on the small of her back and gave the slight smile she received on rare occasions. "We should get going, they'll be here any minute and I don't believe that any of us want to experience that," he gestured to the door as he spoke. Although in his past he was a man of few words, as they had grown older together secrets and silence became a thing of the past.

Many things had changed since Ouran, and even more had changed since they had all began their adult lives. "Too much has changed," Haruhi whispered under her breath hoping Takashi wouldn't notice.

He tilted his head but didn't make anything of her slight. Haruhi followed Takashi through the French doors and down the grand staircase of their shared beach house. Nothing compared to the beaches of France. Her eyes glanced over the details of the house that would be destroyed as soon as they left, filled with bullet holes and men dressed in black. Neither wasted any time reaching the cars that were parked at the back of the expensive house. With only a moment of hesitation Haruhi climbed into the silver Porsche that sat idling as Takashi slid into the driver's seat.

The road rushed by in a grey blur as each car took up the entirety of the small city streets in their attempt to reach Tamaki's private jet. Haruhi and Takashi led the way in the silver Porsche while the twins were second in line driving their jet black Aston Martin, followed by Tamaki who held their bags and other items in his less conspicuous range rover, then followed lastly by Honey who kept the tail in a lime green Lamborghini. Haruhi pinched her nose at the luxury cars following behind her that screamed for attention.

"We are in France Haruhi, there are more than enough people with money that own homes here. We are much less extravagant than you may expect," Takashi comforted while resting a hand over her thigh.

An icy glare from Haruhi's chocolate eyes caused the hand to retract and rest on the stick shift. "Now is not the time for that. How can you be so calm?" she pressed keeping her eyes darting around in wait for the black cars to appear at their flanks.

Takashi didn't humor her with words and instead shrugged in response, a smirk forming slightly over his lips. Haruhi glared.

The caravan made their way to the jet, ever once in a while switching positions as they sped and weaved in and out of the roadways. After a short hour they approached the jet that sat in the distance. A few armored cars sat strategically placed along the tarmac. Haruhi's heart fluttered in anticipation to be up in the air and out of harms way. She didn't dare relax, as the plane was now only a few hundreds of feet away. Exact copies of their cars waited on the outskirts.

 _Leave it to Kyoya to have every detail covered._ Haruhi couldn't help but smirk at the thought of him not having everything carefully planned out from the beginning. Every move, down to the blink of their eyes, was calculated by their true boss. He was cunning and the one and only Kyoya Ootori.

Mixed in her thoughts Haruhi gasped slightly when a hand pulled on her arm in attempt to bring her out of the car. When her gaze met two sets of amber eyes, she let her guard down and followed suit into the jet. Within minutes they were all in the air and seated with a glass of champagne in their hands.

"Congratulations everyone on another job, mostly, well done," Kyoya purred to his team.

* * *

 _Two years prior:_

"You did what?!" Haruhi yelled in the hushed library.

Kyoya quickly brought his slender finger to her lips and glared harshly into her soul. "I'm going to only tell you once to keep your voice down Haruhi," he chided.

Haruhi nodded her head and gulped down the lump in her throat. Her stomach was flipping and it took everything within her being to keep from raising her voice. "How did you-" she began only to be cut off by another finger to her lips. She looked to Kyoya confused, he shook his head in response and motioned for her to follow him out of the library.

She obliged his silent request and they made their way out of the library and into Kyoya's car. It oozed the appearance of money. The Aston was a sleek bullet covered in a deep amethyst finish. Once safely in the confines of the car Haruhi was finally able to organize her thoughts and speak freely.

"Tell me everything Kyoya," she commanded holding his dark gaze.

He huffed and shrugged back into his leather seat. "I own my father's assets," he whispered.

Haruhi wondered as to why he wasn't elated by the fact that he had finally achieved his long awaited goal. Her brows furrowed as she waited for Kyoya to continue.

"I finally did it. But he doesn't have enough to even cover the cost of your tuition," he admitted in a sigh.

"Are you serious?" she asked dumbfounded by the notion that the great Ootori family was actually broke.

Kyoya shook his head in shame and pulled his glasses off his face to pinch the bridge of his nose. He looked as if he were made of glass. Haruhi paused hesitantly wondering if she touched him that he would shatter into a thousand pieces. "All that is left is my share. But even that is a loss," he choked.

"What do you mean? How can your father be broke?" she carefully and delicately placed her hand on his arm, relieved when he stayed in one piece…mostly.

"That fucking bastard owes multiple bosses for old gambling bets and unpaid debts to fucking hookers!" Kyoya nearly cried. His voice shook with each word and Haruhi could feel his pain echo through the car. "While he was pressuring me into becoming better and standing up to meet the expectations of the Ootori name, that scumbag was pissing away money. Ootori means nothing to him!" he shouted.

Haruhi froze unsure how to comfort her long time friend. He was the only one of their group that constantly had it put together. Everything had merit, and everything was a chess piece on Kyoya's board. He had no idea his dad wasn't even playing the same game.

"Kyoya I-I'm so sorry. I don't know what to say," she admitted quietly casting her eyes to the floor. His hand grasped hers and squeezed gently.

"I need to ask you a favor," he whispered barely audible to Haruhi's ears.

She turned her head and saw the wreck that he had truly become. "Anything for my friend," she assured him.

"Are you sure? I can't guarantee your safety, or that this will go well," he cautioned. His brown eyes meeting Haruhi's fully as the fragility washed away from his face, hardened by the seriousness of his warning.

Haruhi internally contemplated all of her options…she was secretly failing law school and didn't have much of a back up plan, certainly Kyoya knew of that fact. But he did imply it was a dangerous request, Kyoya had never steered her wrong in the past and the man was second to the Hitachiin's in the best friend department. Slowly, she nodded her head in compliance. "Yes. You are my friend Kyoya and I don't doubt your ability to think things through," she said firmly.

He nodded before throwing the car in gear and pulling out of the university parking lot. Haruhi clung to her seat as he whisked them through the roads. "Kyoya what the hell?" she asked practically terrified for her life.

"We have to meet the others. You were the last to agree and I was unsure as to whether you would agree or not," he chuckled.

"You ass, you rehearsed this all didn't you? Are you actually even broke?" she fumed.

"Haruhi, everything I said was true. I did go over what I was going to say to you, but the emotions I presented to you are never to leave this car. You are the most stubborn out of the group and cannot be easily bribed like the others. It was the most logical course of action," he replied. His gaze never left the road as Haruhi gaped at his audacity to string her along.

"I will only say this once, so listen to me very carefully. I. Am. Not. A. Pawn," she huffed before crossing her arms in anger.

"Dually noted," Kyoya smirked before going silent for the remainder of their ride.

* * *

Haruhi still fumed as she entered the familiar marble floors of the Hitachiin estate she knew far too well. As she followed Kyoya to the study where the others awaited she noticed that the guys had renovated once again, this time following a classical French renaissance style. She began to wonder if Tamaki had anything to do with the décor.

Lost in her admiration of the expensive vases and rugs, she hardly noticed when four sets of arms encompassed her slender frame.

"Haruhi! My darling daughter!" Tamaki sang as he tightened his grip.

Haruhi gasped for air as Tamaki squeezed her uncomfortably tight. The twins had to cut their embrace short to pry the blonde from Haruhi who stood coughing as her lungs breathed in much welcomed oxygen.

Honey was the second to embrace her but his short and sweet, much like the blonde she remembered from Ouran Academy. "Haru-chan!" he exclaimed in a much less high pitched voice. He had even grown a few inches taller than Haruhi and she even had to admit he had become quite handsome.

She smiled brightly as he stood before her. "Honey-senpai, I haven't seen you since my graduation," she replied before hugging him back.

"A lot of things have changed since then, I've been busy running the Haninozuka endeavors. We expanded and well, you know how crazy life can get Haru-chan. How are your studies going at university?" he asked as they all took their seats.

"Oh, well um-"

"We can reminisce and catch up after we discuss the matters at hand Honey," Kyoya interjected, cutting Haruhi off mid sentence. He sent her a quick look before facing everyone.

 _He definitely knows…_ Haruhi sighed unsure as to how that bit of information would play out in Kyoya's favor before turning her attention to the scheming man of the hour.

"As you all know I'm in a bit of a pinch. As of late I've been hashing out plans for a couple of clients. I will caution you all once more that this is not a weak task," Kyoya began.

Tamaki was the first in the group to speak up, "We all are friends Kyoya, and friends help each other when one friend is in any sort of trouble. It's what friends do!"

Kyoya curtly nodded and adjusted his glasses. "Alright then, now what I am about to propose may seem a bit insane but it's just what will be. This endeavor will not only help me might I add. It would be beneficial for you all," he concluded.

Haruhi glanced around the room taking in everyone's face. The only one that caught her attention was Mori's. He seemed more forlorn than she knew him to be, and something about the way he casted his eyes away made her chest tighten in anxiety. He sat in a chair near the antique, marble fireplace. It was as far away as he could possibly get without leaving the room. She began to wonder how Kyoya had convinced him to participate, or if he was only there simply because of Honey.

"We will be attending an event hosted by a sister company, now you are all to occupy the host and monitor the security. I will do the rest. There really is no need for any of you to know the minor details, so I will leave it at that. I suggest Haruhi that you wear something extra…distracting. That is all," he said keeping his attention pointed towards Haruhi.

She rolled her eyes and knew she would be turned into the twin's doll in no time.

"Don't worry, we have the perfect thing in mind," Hikaru replied to Kyoya's implication causing Haruhi to gulp.

"You're going to look amazing," Kaoru added with a wink and a devious smirk.

"Well with that, I believe Tamaki had some food that he ordered arriving shortly?" Kyoya asked only to confirm his question when Tamaki nodded vigorously.

While they waited each former host mingled and caught up with each other. After a long squeezing session from an all too giddy Tamaki, Haruhi quickly sought solace in Mori's company. He welcomed her with open arms, and completely devoid of excessive squeezing.

"Haruhi," he nodded as she stood before him.

It almost seemed dismissive but Haruhi knew that was simply how Takashi Morinozuka conversed with people. She gave him a bright smile and leaned against the frame of the fireplace. "Hi Mori-senpai."

He frowned at her formality "You can call me Takashi, I think it's about time."

Haruhi averted his gaze by admiring the white stone of the fireplace and its intricate detailing. "So what did Kyoya do to get you to come here? I can't imagine he bribed you with anything," she said trailing the curve of the mantle with her index finger.

Takashi gave a hint of a smirk. "You always were quite intuitive. He didn't bribe me, no, he simply convinced Mitskuni and I found his proposition intriguing." He slightly shifted his position so they were standing closer and away from prying ears. "And how may I ask did he get you to attend?" he asked in a hushed tone.

Haruhi was almost jittery with the close proximity of Takashi. He had told her exactly what her suspicions had figured from the start, but did she really want to tell him the truth? He succeeded in everything he did, and she somewhat had looked up to him in their high school days. Surely he would find no honor in her failing law school when she was perfectly capable of doing so. Amidst her thoughts she had failed to notice Takashi patiently waiting for her response until she saw him begin to trail the mantle of the fireplace as well. The soft touch of his hand brought her fully out of her own head.

"Oh, um sorry Mori-sen-, um Takashi…Kyoya basically gave me a sob story and I would do anything for any of you if you were in trouble. But I'm sure he knows something that even I don't know that he could potentially hold against me. It was in my best interest to say yes anyways," she rambled.

Takashi gave her a silent nod, his eyes filled with scrutiny. Haruhi didn't have to look hard to conclude that he was only buying half of what she was selling. But she simply couldn't say the truth, at least not yet anyways.

"You're a good friend to us all Haruhi," Takashi finally said with a small smile. The rare smile that she had only seen on a handful of occasions. One being when she was accepted into law-school and the twins insisted on throwing her a party. How she loved that sparse gesture.

"Thank you Takashi," she said giving him a smile in return.

Tamaki returned with a cart filled with food from everyone's favorite restaurant. One after the other, they each took their plate and sat around the coffee table that was placed in the middle of the room. Haruhi managed to sit between Takashi and Honey, avoiding having to sit between the twins or next to Tamaki. She was thankful she could enjoy her meal in relative peace.

"So Kyoya, how did your dad lose the money?" Kaoru was the first to ask the question that had been sitting on everyone's lips.

Haurhi knitted her brows together, Kyoya had only told her apparently. The knotted feeling in her gut grew larger. The twins could be just as cold and calculating as Kyoya, yet even she wouldn't have asked that particular question just yet.

"Bad investments I suppose one could say. The man really should learn to spend his money on more important things than hookers, and car racing." Kyoya said in a cool and collected tone.

Haruhi began to wonder just how put together her conniving friend could be. It was his nature after all. She glanced in his direction before quickly averting her eyes back towards her meal. She could feel a few sets of eyes set on her, and frankly it was getting on her last nerve.

The rest of the meal was eaten in relative peace, aside from Honey's constant whining about wanting more sweets and the twin's sarcasm towards Tamaki. She felt like she was home again, with her boys that she hadn't realized she missed so much. As the night died down, and everyone had been informed of what was expected of them for the days to come, Haruhi found herself on a balcony near her room in the Hitachiin estate. The night wind caught her hair and whipped it past her face, engulfing her in a cool breeze. She breathed in the fresh air and exhaled in an attempt to bring the knot a bit looser in her stomach. Haruhi knew that there was a chance that this could all go so very wrong, but she had constantly pushed the doubt aside in an attempt to focus on the days that lay ahead. As her thoughts traveled they took a sharp turn and a set of warm eyes filled her brain.

* * *

 _A/N: Well a new story, please read and review and tell me what you think! I hope you all enjoyed the first chapter. I can wait to give you all more of this story! Updates will be regular. Thank you for reading! Message me if you have any questions! Kay bye! ^.^_


	2. Chapter 2

Sorry about the late update

Don't Own Characters***

Enjoy~

* * *

Kyoya made a few last minute calls as the sun caught up with the moon and began to break over the horizon. There wasn't much left for him to do but only a few minor details that could only be accomplished through him actually being at the event. He took in a breath reminding himself that there was no returning after this. He was changing himself as well as everyone involved with his plans. Especially Haruhi who was more than capable of being a well suited pawn in his game. Their encounter from the previous night left him speechless and slightly aroused. Kyoya chided himself for his actions while the smirk lingered on his lips.

"Kyoya? Are you awake?" Tamaki's voice rang from outside his door. Kyoya's smirk disappeared into a scowl that only grew deeper as Tamaki opened the door and came into the room.

"Yes, please come in," Kyoya grumbled with sarcasm.

Tamaki only smiled at his friend and took a seat at Kyoya's makeshift desk. "Everyone is still asleep but I figured I would come talk to you," Tamaki said coolly.

"What is there to talk about?" Kyoya asked.

* * *

Haruhi sat on her window seat and grimaced as her eyes glanced over the clock. She had only managed to get three hours of sleep. She was going to have dark circles, which didn't bode well for her being under the twin's scrutiny. They would definitely slather her in makeup for the event there was no doubt about that. She watched the sun rise and cascade over the endless acres of grass and trees that was the back of the Hitachiin estate. She could see a few gardeners and groundskeepers sprinkled about the grounds. Her mind wandered as she watched them work. Haruhi let out a breath as she remembered her pit stop in Kyoya's room.

"Why did he come on to me the way he did?" she asked aloud to no one in particular.

"Who came on to you?" Hikaru hissed from behind her.

Haruhi froze and willed herself not to turn around as his gaze melted the back of her skull. She could feel the iciness in his question and scrunched her nose as she mentally scolded her own stupidity.

"Haruhi?" he asked, closer than before.

She gulped and closed her eyes wishing for him to turn around and leave her room. However Hikaru kept walking closer until he was close enough for Haruhi to feel his breath on her exposed neck. She opened her eyes and could see his reflection in the windowpane.

"It was nothing, just a weird dream. That's all," she confirmed with a small smile.

Hikaru frowned for a single moment before giving her a reassuring smile. "If you say so. Are you ready for tonight?" he asked.

Haruhi smirked and turned around to face him straight on. "As ready as I will ever be," she said with a smile.

The two stayed in their idle silence for a few moments until being interrupted by Kaoru who came barging in with a few racks of dresses and what could only be the styling crew. This made Haruhi suck in a deep breath of air, as the anxiety of being their personal doll became her reality.

After a few long hours, Haruhi was pinned and pressed into the perfect distraction for the event. The twins declared she would be the talk of magazines for at least a few days. Haruhi couldn't help but agree with them as she took a long look in the mirror. Her reflection was a complete stranger and she wasn't entirely sure if that was particularly good or bad. The tight black two-piece gown moved in all the right places. It was a timeless cut that clung like velvet to her porcelain skin. Hikaru and Kaoru hung their tongues out like dogs waiting for a bone. Their eyes were wide with admiration and satisfaction as they examined their work.

Haruhi could feel the weight of their combined gaze and gulped under the pressure of living up to their unbelievably high standards. She ran her hands down the side of her hips and felt the amazingly soft fabric that was some sort of silk; she hadn't paid too much attention to the details.

"I think we've outdone ourselves," Kaoru cooed.

"Indeed. This is just…Haruhi you are…wow," Hikaru agreed, at a loss for words.

Haruhi felt her cheeks rush with blood and couldn't keep herself from averting her gaze from their observing eyes. She hated the unnecessary attention.

The twins held out their hands beckoning her to follow them down to where the others were patiently waiting. She obliged and carefully walked in her incredibly pinchy high heels, wobbling with every step.

Every set of eyes followed their beloved friend as she cascaded elegantly, sort of, down the staircase. Both Hikaru and Kaoru watched their friends' reactions as they took in their creation. Tamaki Honey gushed at how elegant and cute Haruhi appeared in the black two-piece gown. While Kyoya and Takashi remained silent as they dealt with their inner turmoil caused by their attraction.

Haruhi eased herself down the staircase and stood before the group waiting for someone to speak and interrupt the unbearable silence. She knew the dress looked good, but their gazes were tenfold compared to the twins. "Can we go?" she asked with impatience and slight annoyance.

Behind Haruhi both Hikaru and Kaoru wore identical devious smirks. Soon the whole room would be staring at her and wondering who she is and where she came from. They had created the perfect distraction.

* * *

Haruhi slid into the smooth handcrafted seat of Tamaki's Porsche and listened to the hum of the engine. The car covered the streets effortlessly as Tamaki placed a reassuring hand on Haruhi's shoulder. She gave a weak smile at his gesture knowing she wasn't fooling him; he knew she was nervous. Kyoya's words echoed in her mind as Tamaki drove. The malice in his voice sent chills once more down Haruhi's spine.

" _You're my greatest distraction, we wouldn't want anything to happen to you in that beautiful dress now would we?"_

Haruhi inwardly cringed once more as Tamaki continued his idle babble. As he revved up the rpms, the Porsche swallowed the streets further until their destination was within sight. Its tall pillars that held the slate roof in place peaked over the hill that it sat upon and gave the building an opulent appearance. There were no other words Haruhi could think of to describe the sheer elegance and grandiosity of the mansion. It was far greater than the Suoh estate or any other property she had ever seen.

As they reached the iron gates that enclosed the property Tamaki gave a faint chuckle at Haruhi's amazement. Her eyes had gone wide and her mouth hung slightly agape.

"Haruhi you'll catch flies with your mouth hanging open like that," he snickered.

"My mouth was not hanging open…This place is definitely bigger than your estate," she replied with a sly smile.

Tamaki gasped dramatically at Haruhi's statement and gave her a sour look. "Why are you so mean to me?" he whined.

Haruhi shrugged and turned her attention back to the scenery before her. "Tamaki just drive. We are going to be late," she commanded unaffected by Tamaki's reaction or his need for her attention.

He hesitated for only a second before returning his gaze to the entrance before him and driving along the tree lined driveway. The long road stretched more than a mile and a half before they arrived at the entrance. A handful of valets waited anxiously as the keys to each guest's luxury car were handed over with reluctance. Tamaki tossed his own keys to the valet and gave the boy a stern look daring the antsy teen to take his prized car on a joy ride.

Haruhi rolled her eyes at Tamaki's antics and pulled him away with some force.

"It's just a car. You rich people and your possessions I swear," she muttered under her breath as they walked up the marble stairs.

Tamaki exhaled and plastered his charming smile on his face as he engaged his gentlemanly self. He pulled Haruhi along as she took carefully positioned steps in order to keep her balance on the slick polished dark wood floors. As they entered the event everything seemed to encompass her in a blissful haze. The small chamber ensemble echoed through the vast halls and lulled the guests' ears in a soft melodic tune, as servants ghosted about the room carrying various types of champagne and hors d'oeuvres.

"Okay so our target is standing in the corner. Kyoya said we had to keep them occupied for at least an hour and then we are to meet back with everyone two hours before the event ends. Honey and Takashi will be watching us from afar at all times. As for the devil twins, well they will be doing what they do best," Tamaki said as he carefully motioned towards each person as they walked together.

Haruhi gave him a nod in confirmation while keeping a warm smile on her lips. She knew she was now playing the game. She was now a chess piece being strung along by Kyoya, following his orders and commands. Haruhi shook her head unsure as to whether she was performing the way he wanted.

"Haruhi?" Tamaki asked, his violet eyes filled with concern.

She brought her own eyes up to meet his "Sorry just remembering my 'story'," she said with a small hint of sarcasm. "Established law student that is interning with one of your family's law firms. Just an honest girl who met you and we are not quite dating, but very close friends...blah blah blah."

Tamaki gave her a firm look before taking a slight right and heading for the event hosts; a tall blonde woman accompanied by a lanky dark haired male who nursed a glass of champagne in one hand and a cigarette in the other.

Haruhi combed her eyes over the woman. She was a beautiful elite type that Haruhi had probably encountered a hundred different times while going to Ouran. Her dark maroon lips matched her maroon dress and it reminded Haruhi vaguely of blood. Haruhi suppressed the giggle that threatened to erupt from her lips as she continued to take in the woman standing before her.

"This is miss Vivian Beauchene, granddaughter to one of the greatest families that have ever hailed from France," Tamaki purred as he introduced the lovely blonde. She gave Haruhi a quick grimace as she kept her gaze locked tightly on Tamaki.

Haruhi smiled faintly keeping her posture steady as she addressed the blonde, "Miss Beauchene it's lovely meeting you," she said with a short bow.

"And this is Haruhi Fujioka, she's an old colleague of mine," Tamaki added quickly introducing Haruhi to the two social elites.

The man standing next to miss Beauchene grinned a sly devilish grin that had Haruhi's skin crawling. His dark eyes drank in Haruhi, running over every inch of her body. Harhui was sure that if his eyes were able to undress her, she would've been completely naked standing in front of everyone. Yet he remained silent as he took her hand in his and lightly kissed the top never breaking their eye contact.

"Pleased to meet you miss Fujioka," he lilted sensually.

Haruhi smirked as she watched Tamaki nearly unravel at the man's gestures from the corner of her eye.

"So miss Fujioka Tamaki said you were his colleague? What exactly do you do?" Vivian asked switching her gaze between Tamaki and Haruhi.

"I work for a law firm-"

"She is interning with my father's lawyers helping us stay out of trouble," Tamaki interrupted in a rushed tone. Haruhi could see the perspiration begin to gather near his temple and inwardly groaned.

The conversation between the four continued well into the night, Haruhi remained silent as Tamaki spoke for her every time a question was pointed in her direction. Each time it grated more on her nerves yet at the same time she was somewhat grateful that she didn't have to keep lying or twisting her image. She instead stood back from the conversation and observed the social elites who brushed past her every now and then. Vivian's date continued to watch her every move, his eyes never wandering from her person. It was beginning to set her on edge.

"Oh there's Tamaki," a familiar voice sounded from their right.

Haruhi let out a small, relieved breath as the twin's slid up on either side of Tamaki. She watched as Vivian's eyes momentarily widened and intrigue washed over the blonde's features. Her admirer however grimaced and for the first time since they had arrived broke his gaze and looked off to the side.

"We were just leaving but we saw the arm candy you were wearing and decided to make a pit stop," Hikaru said smirking as his eyes met Haruhi's.

Haruhi rolled her eyes at the comment but knew it was their cue to leave. The twins had probably started a fire somewhere and she in no capacity wanted to stay to watch the commotion that was no doubt about to ensue.

"We are going out for drinks, Tamaki you and your…date are more than welcome to join us," Kaoru said with a wink.

Tamaki grinned and linked his arm through Haruhi's. "We'd be delighted. Miss Beauchene it was wonderful meeting you and enjoying your company. A la prochaine mademoiselle," he finished with a wink and his most charming smile that caused the blonde to blush a brilliant shade of pink.

As the four took their leave, they remained locked in small talk keeping up their façade. Haruhi giggled every so often while Tamaki kept his hand at the small of her back, guiding her towards the exit. The twins cracked their usual jokes and made slights towards some of the people they passed, telling Haruhi something about one woman or another that made her shutter or roll her eyes. They played off their casual friendliness until they finally reached the valet and were returned to their cars.

Once inside the Porsche Haruhi let out the remaining anxiety that had built as Tamaki spun her a web of lies that not even she would be able to remember. Her mind seemed to buzz with the remnants of the event. The lavender sent that had engulfed the room now clung to her dress and hair while her ears could still hear the faint lull of the chamber ensemble. She pinched her nose in order to regain her senses.

"I think that went well," Tamaki finally said after a few minutes of silence.

Haruhi turned to him and glared. "Yeah except for the web of lies you told to miss perfect, and the man undressing me with his eyes who accompanied her," she scoffed.

"She is a very wealthy granddaughter to a very wealthy man in France who makes more than you could in your lifetime," he shot back. "And as for her friend that was with her, he was only interested in you because the devil twins put you in something that would've been less revealing if it were painted on."

Haruhi's eyes widened in shock as the words rolled off of Tamaki's tongue. She stiffened in her seat and brought out her phone, her fingers typing rapidly across the screen as the fury ebbed from her body.

"Haruhi," Tamaki sighed but he was too late.

"Pull over. Now. I will ride with Takashi and Honey," he demanded, her voice cold and distant.

"Haruhi wait," he whimpered slowing the car to a stop.

"I'll see you back at Hikaru's and Kaoru's," she said before slamming the door leaving Tamaki alone.

Her feet ached as she walked the few feet between the cars and slid into the back of Takashi's rover. Honey gave her a sympathetic look from the passenger seat unsure if he should ask what happened.

"I'm fine," Haruhi murmured in an attempt to put Honey at ease. She couldn't handle his prying eyes and concerned stare.

Takashi remained silent, as was his usual, for the remainder of their ride back to the Hitachiin's. His eyes met Haruhi's every now and then from the rearview mirror. With each look Haruhi's frown grew deeper.

* * *

Kyoya's voice echoed through the study as each former host took their seats. "It seems that tonight went off without a hit. Hikaru and Kaoru, you both made the perfect distraction for me to take my leave. We will be attending another event at the end of this week."

Haruhi kept her eyes locked on the floor as Kyoya spoke, she had so many questions yet no one knew the answers except their oh so beloved Shadow King, their mastermind. Her face twisted and locked into that of disgust for the remainder of the night while the others rejoiced in their well-played roles.

Kyoya gave his infamous smirk to the others as they bid him goodnight. He watched as they ushered out of the room, one after the other until he and Haruhi were the only ones left. She slumped in the soft cushions of the loveseat barely holding onto consciousness. She held her face in her hand allowing her hair to fall in her face. He gave her a ghost of a smile before joining her on the couch.

"Haruhi a word."

* * *

 _A/N: Sorry if it was kind of meh. I have bad writer's block and I keep getting interrupted while writing which messes with my flow of the story and what's all happening. I hope any of you reading this can get passed this chapter and keep reading the fic. If not I may just delete it until it's all finished then re-upload it when I'm done. Idk, reviews are very much appreciated it keeps me motivated. Thank you for following and favoriting!_


	3. Chapter 3

_Woo Early Update!_

 _Don't Own Characters***_

Enjoy~

* * *

Haruhi gulped down the lump of worry that began to build in her throat. It was ceasing any words that were forming in her head and poising on the tip of her tongue as her mouth had gone dry. Kyoya's gaze was tantalizing and not in necessarily a good way. His dark eyes clouded further behind his glasses, they were his secret-weapon.

"Haruhi I must say you looked ravishing tonight," he began.

She gave him a huff. _Great he's going to make another advance on me._ She waited in persistent silence for him to continue. "But looks aside, I was told about your little episode with Tamaki in his car. What did he say that upset you so?" he asked.

She waited a few more moments in the silence as she tried desperately to find the words to speak. "Nothing really, I just wasn't expecting him to be so persistent in weaving my 'story'," she said with a dry voice.

Kyoya stiffened only a fraction as he reacted to her words. His face forever unchanging in his usual stoic manner. Haruhi wondered if he and Takashi had some sort of emotionless master they had learned from but pushed the thought to the side as Kyoya began to speak.

"Was this in any way a hindrance to your assigned tasks?" he inquired allowing his brows to knit together.

Haruhi sighed and shook her head no. Of course it wasn't necessarily a hindrance, but it was certainly hard for her to keep up with him as he blathered on about her so-called life. Much of which was completely made up to make her appear much wealthier than she actually was. She supposed it was more bothersome for her personally than to whatever the group was doing as a whole. Haruhi hated when Kyoya was admissible.

"You know Haruhi, in this sort of situation, and it will come up again in the future as we progress in our…endeavors, you will find yourself in sometimes the most uncomfortable of situations. If you cant handle only a few hours of feeling this cumbersome then maybe this is isn't right for you," he continued on. His eyes narrowed as he talked, Haruhi could see that much. But she could also see the cogs and gears working in his mind. "However Haruhi," he paused to cup her chin with his fingers and thumb making her look directly at him. "I cant imagine what the others would think if you bailed on a friend in need. I also cant imagine how you will be able to pull yourself out of the predicament that you weaved yourself into over your third year of law school," his tone was icy.

Haruhi glared, as he seemed to peer into her soul. Kyoya's face had never appeared so dangerous to her. Not even when she had been the one in trouble years ago. She was now certain that Kyoya knew of her discrepancies that had transpired over the course of her junior year at law school. She was not entirely proud of what she had done, and she had suffered the consequences, she was _still_ suffering them. Rage had started to bubble into her chest.

"What do you know about loyalty Kyoya? And what exactly do you know about my third year? I want answers and I want them now." As Haruhi finished her statement she had a finger pointed at his chest. Anger rolled off of her in ample waves.

Kyoya's eyes widened and his fingers quickly fell away from Haruhi's face. He glanced around the room in order to avoid her scrutiny yet the only escape was for him to leave the room, and that would mean him losing an argument. He was simply too stubborn for that. So instead Kyoya grabbed Haruhi's hand and took a different approach.

Within seconds he had her pinned on the couch, hovering over her slim and quite exposed body. Her dress rode up revealing a bit of her black lace thong and her breasts began to spill from her top, she quivered beneath Kyoya's burning gaze. His glasses had slid further down the bridge of his nose causing his eyes to finally be seen and they were clouded with lust. Haruhi could feel her heart begin to palpitate.

"Kyoya. I want. Answers," she spoke in short breaths as his face inched closer to hers. His hot breath tickled her exposed neck.

"I know about the drugs Haruhi. You could've gone to jail. You still could," he said.

Haruhi began to realize she didn't want to be in her current situation. She didn't want her past thrown in her face by someone who was supposed to respect her; someone who was supposed to be a close friend. But not even the twins knew about her slight left turn college. She at least deserved the chance to explain.

"I know you owe a certain person quite a lot of money. I know about the pimping and the fact that all of that has affected your current standing at the university," he went on, firing off one truth after another.

Haruhi felt like she was suffocating. In a burst of panic she attempted to sit up but Kyoya was too heavy to budge. This only induced more panic. She was on the brink of hyperventilating. "Do you know why I did any of those things?" she finally asked.

Kyoya narrowed his eyes not quite understanding why she would ask such a question. Certainly it was because she needed money, even he had considered getting into the drug world in order to pay off his dad's debts. However that was too risky of a game to play. "Haruhi I assumed money was your motive?"

She shook her head. "Yes the money was nice, it paid for a large chunk of my tuition or rent money however there was more to it. Shame on you Kyoya for not digging deeper. I thought you were better than just skimming the surface," she chided. She glanced at the clock mounted on the mantle of the fireplace. It read 2 am. The others had gone to their rooms two hours ago and she was more than positive no one would enter the study at this time. Her inner struggle to tell Kyoya the whole story had finally tapped out. She was tired of being pressed for information and decided if Kyoya wanted to actually know he could do what he did best and dig a little deeper.

With a final surge of strength Haruhi pushed forward and managed to remove herself from Kyoya's clutches. She quickly stood from the couch and took large strides to reach the door. "If you want to know that bad then do what the infamous Kyoya Ootori does best and figure it out. I'm not telling you anymore until you start to tell me the whole story as well. It's a two way street and I'm tired of your advances," she spoke with iciness in her voice until the last word before turning on her heel and walking out of the study.

Kyoya was left sitting awkwardly on the loveseat unsure of his own next move. One of his pawns was starting to edge its way off the board and he was certain that it was a move that was more than unwise.

As Haruhi walked away she could hear her own steps in the silence of the night as she made her way through the halls up the stairs and into the safety of her room. To her amusement she found that the twins had crawled into her bed, obviously waiting for her arrival. She sighed and sloughed off the dress as if it were a second skin. Changing into large old ratty t-shirt she carefully crawled into bed where two identical arms wrapped around her as she dozed off to sleep.

* * *

Kyoya waited fifteen minutes on the dot before leaving the study himself. He turned down the maze of hallways that were just as complicated and tricky as Kaoru and Hikaru themselves. After one last turn he was finally in front of Tamaki's bedroom door. He knocked twice before letting himself in.

"Tamaki wake up," he whispered while shaking his best friend awake.

After a soft groan and a few more shakes on Kyoya's part Tamaki had finally woken up. The blonde rubbed his eyes vigorously in an attempt to erase the sleep from his eyes.

"What? Did something happen?" Tamaki asked now more alert.

Kyoya frowned and shrugged his shoulders. "I'm actually not entirely sure. I talked to Haruhi. She certainly is a bit miffed at you about twisting her story so much. I can't say I blame her, with more lies and stretches things start to get too muddled," Kyoya chastised.

Tamaki gave Kyoya a soft look of regret and cast his eyes down to focus on the bedspread, "Sorry," he almost whimpered.

Kyoya cleaned his glasses in indifference. "She also definitely was into some bad news during her time at the university as you suspected," he said recalling he and Tamaki's talk the night Haruhi had made an appearance in Kyoya's room.

"And was it about the money? Didn't she know that she could've came to us?" Tamaki asked.

"You know how she is about charity. But no it wasn't about the money…we didn't quite get that far in our conversation," Kyoya admitted.

Tamaki looked a bit taken aback, his violet eyes widening in surprise. They both sat in silent contemplation for a few moments before Tamaki spoke. "So what are your plans for our next…excursion?" he asked choosing his words carefully not wanting to call what they were doing what it actually was.

Kyoya sighed and returned his glasses to his face. "The next event is this weekend in not such a fan of the host but they are extremely wealthy and have quite a bit of money in their stocks. I want you to talk stocks with these people Tamaki. Haruhi will not be attending this event because some old classmates from Ouran will indeed be there. They will recognize her on the spot. We also will not be needing Takashi or Honey to tag along. The twins will be accompanying you though in order to keep the distractions going. I will be your plus one as I was not invited," he explained.

"Do you think people know?" Tamaki asked innocently.

Kyoya glared but kept his anger in check. "I don't think anyone will know as long as I can help it. I do not want to continue to give my father the satisfaction of having money. It will be my empire. Knowledge is always power Tamaki."

Before Tamaki could say another word Kyoya was walking out of the room back towards his own. He had said what he needed to and talking was beginning to tire him. Gathering information was what he did best but it certainly could be draining.

Safely inside his room Kyoya pulled out his little black book and began writing his gathered information onto the pages. He also had grabbed his laptop and stuck the jump-drive into its slot. Within seconds gigabits of data were pouring onto his hard drive. Kyoya drifted off into sleep with a smirk of satisfaction on his lips.

* * *

Haruhi awoke the following days well into the afternoon as each night Kyoya had made an appearance in some room she was in or another in order to collect more information. Every time she sealed her lips shut and nearly punched him out of frustration. It was taxing and she suffered sleep because of it. She began to wonder why he was so intent on knowing the reason behind things that certainly didn't concern him.

To Haruhi's relief it was finally the night before their next event and as she waited in the study with the others. She waited for Kyoya to give orders as she sat comfortably between Kaoru and Hikaru. Their arms crossed over the back of the couch they sat on and curved around her shoulders. They wore identical smirks and they sandwiched her, but she unbeknownst to them actually liked their company.

"Tamaki you, Kaoru and Hikaru will be attending this event. You are to keep the guests occupied with whatever is necessary. Gather information on how their businesses are going, if their stocks are up or down and whether they plan to sell. I need to know," he began giving a sweep of the room with his eyes.

Haruhi narrowed her eyes as she watched Kyoya stare at his black book while he spoke. She mumbled her gratitude under breath when Kyoya failed to mention her name in any of his plans. It was a minute blessing and she couldn't wait to be free from Kyoya.

Honey and Takashi seemed unimpressed that they weren't being utilized yet they remained silent as Kyoya finished explaining what he expected of everyone to execute the plan. Takashi every so often sent his gaze in Haruhi's direction; he studied her facial expressions and began to read her like a book. He could slightly tell she was on edge, he also noticed the dark circles that rimmed her eyes. It was evident to him that she had not been sleeping and he began to wonder what was hindering her from doing so. Kyoya's dismissal brought him out of his head and back into reality with the others. Honey gave him a curious look but Takashi kept his face indifferent and continued to walk out of the room with the others.

As the night before yet another scheme slowly vanished and the moon had began to sink back into the sky hiding itself from the sun Haruhi began to relate with the moon. Kyoya was the sun. She was grateful that Kyoya had left her alone yet her sleeping patterns had already been besmirched and she found herself completely awake as yet another night passed before her eyes.

A small knock on her door had her running for a shirt and nearly stumbling onto her face. Before she could welcome them in Hikaru was standing in the doorway with two cups of coffee and a yawn forming on his perfect face.

Haruhi tilted her head to the side as he approached her. She gave a regretful glance in her vanity mirror that was too close for comfort. Haruhi sat nonchalantly on the vanity bench while she caught her breath from her recent sprint to retrieve a shirt. Hikaru handed her the cup and took a seat across form her on the same bench. They sat only a foot away from each other as both friends took a long sip of the dark liquid from their mugs.

"I've noticed you have been getting up in the middle of the past couple of nights," Hikaru observed.

Haruhi shrugged and focused on her mug of coffee. It was a bit too sweet for her but that was how Hikaru liked it. It was obvious they weren't together as much as they were in the Ouran days. A small pang of guilt twisted her stomach. "It's just a bit of insomnia. I guess I'm just anxious, or…I don't know," she trialed off.

"Haruhi," he said in a stern voice. It sounded odd to Haruhi, for someone like Hikaru to sound serious for once.

"Hikaru I'm fine really. Plus it doesn't ever stop you or Kaoru from coming to my bed anyways," she added with a bit of sarcasm.

Hikaru smirked at her response. His amber eyes were liquid gold as the hints of sunrays peeking over the hills reflected over them. Haruhi gave him a small smile.

"We hardly see you anymore. I felt the way I do when Kaoru and I fight and we end up sleeping in different rooms. It was like a piece of me was missing again," he admitted in a low voice.

The twist of guilt grew stronger. Haruhi couldn't meet those sincere amber eyes. The truth had never stung so fervently. She remained silent waiting for Hikaru to say something to fill the space. His hand reached out and grasped hers. Their persistent closeness finally made sense to Haruhi; it was as if they were trying to make up for lost time. And she was the culprit for their sadness, for the void that she had left them to deal with.

"I'm sorry Hikaru," she whispered.

He squeezed her hand. "We are just happy to finally have you back," he said.

She swallowed back the tears that burned behind her eyes with a sip of the sweet coffee. It was like torture.

"Promise you wont leave again," he added another squeeze.

She nodded her head and mouthed a "yes" as the tears were now brimming at the corner of her eyes. A long unexpected yawn caused the tears to finally fall from her chocolate eyes.

Hikaru knitted his brows together as he watched them fall. His thumb rubbed over the back of her hand and then he pulled her closer. He remained silent as she sniffled every now and then. As her tears subsided they both sat in silence embracing each other's company and presence.

The sun began to rise higher as the morning presented itself with blue skies and a cloudless sky. Haruhi and Hikaru had moved to her bed at some point during their conversation. Neither was exactly alert enough to remember at what part in their twilight get together they had left the bench seat.

Hikaru was just on the brink of dozing off when Kaoru entered the room and gave a small exasperated whine. "Hikaru how could you leave me in the middle of the night. I would've joined you if you told me you were going to Haruhi's room."

Haruhi groaned into her pillow as Kaoru padded over to the bed. After a soft nudge from Kaoru to scoot over she reluctantly obliged and moved. Both boys snuggled into her sides giving a resounding sigh of contentment to fill the room.

"Don't leave us again okay Haruhi," Kaoru whispered into her neck as he curled further into her bubble. She gave a silent nod and nuzzled back.

All too soon did their restored bubble burst when a loud knock from a grumpy Kyoya filled the room. The boys slowly and with much reluctance left the warmth of the bed and their friend to join their Shadow King. Once more Haruhi was left to wake up to an empty bed and a not so empty heart.

* * *

While everyone put their finishing touches on, Haruhi, Takashi and Honey sat intermittently about the kitchen. Honey had managed to convince one of the chefs to make him an absurdly large cake with white frosting and doused in strawberries. Takashi stood near the sink a few feet away from everyone observing his friends. He watched as Haruhi made small conversation with Honey causing his cousin's eyes to light up with a joy he hadn't seen in quite some time.

Kyoya grabbed his tie and fixed it under his white collar. He gave himself one last look in the mirror while pushing his glasses up for good measure. A smirk covered his face that was as sweet as the devil's. Before their departure he gave a quick glance towards Haruhi that had her glaring after him.

His mind reeled as he and Tamaki rode together with the twins all the way to their destination. It was yet another small charity event, and by small there would still be a couple hundred people. This event was the who's who of the social elite. Everyone made a large donation in their family's name and then proceeded to delve into the not so benevolent pleasures of the world. Kyoya himself had no desire to partake in any of the designer drugs or high class consorts that floated about the room. He had a much bigger vice to tend to.

Tamaki, Kaoru, and Hikaru all did their best at making a small spectacle of themselves as Kyoya climbed a back staircase that had been sectioned off from the party. He tsked the former classmate for having such an event at his own home. Everything could be traced and eventually there would be a trail leading to the mansion he walked through. After a few quick turns Kyoya had managed to find the study he was looking for and jimmied the lock open. Pulling the handkerchief from his suit pocket he turned the handle and walked in slowly closing the door behind him. Kyoya quickly scanned the room until he located what he could only imagine was the filing cabinet.

"Okay let's see, it should be in the second drawer," he said thinking aloud. His slender fingers ran along the manila folders each one filled with stacks of papers. His first finger stopped as it ran over a familiar name. With diligence he pulled the folder from its slot and flipped through the papers. Numbers upon numbers scored the page from top to bottom. Without hesitation Kyoya pulled out his phone and began snapping photos of the pages he held.

He then carefully placed the folder neatly and carefully back into its slot amongst the others. After wiping the cabinet clean with his handkerchief Kyoya grabbed his phone and slipped out of the room, certain he left without a trace.

"Hey Kyoya, what took you so long?" Hikaru whispered as his friend joined their group.

Kyoya gave a winning smile and patted Hikaru on the back. "Just taking care of some business if you know what I mean," he said with a nudge loud enough for the others to hear.

Tamaki shot him a look of scrutiny but dismissed it with a laugh and turned to the women that filled the spaces between them. "Who knew the bachelor was such a ladies man," he added with a wink.

Kyoya forced a chuckle and adjusted his frames, "I have to have some fun every now and then," he laughed.

Each girl that had joined their party gave a slight blush. One brunette in particular locked her eyes on Kyoya. She gave him a sultry smile before leaning in to whisper a few sweet and extremely lewd nothings in his ear. His neck tingled after she spoke and he had to avoid her gaze for a few seconds to compose himself. The others gave him an interesting look wondering what the elusive brunette had said to rattle Kyoya's cage. He gave them a hard frown as he tried to enjoy the rest of their night under their scrutiny.

* * *

 _A/N: Thanks for reading. I hope this chapter wasn't too boring, I will probably have the next update up soon! Reviews are appreciated!_


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: _Super sorry for the late update. I have bad writer's block and as much as I want to write, the words are just not coming to me like they usually do. Also I apologize in advance for such a short chapter. But not to worry, the next chapter should be longer or at least longer than this one. I would like to thank the few of you who have read and reviewed this story, so thank you so so much! I really do love getting reviews. Anywho I wanted to clarify and say that we are still in the past, we are still two years prior to their rendezvous in the plane with Kyoya at the beginning of chapter 1. So sorry if that's confusing but I wanted to explain their pasts a bit. Thank you for reading though!_

 _Don't Own_ _Characters***_

Enjoy~

* * *

Haruhi made use of her time away from Kyoya to check her emails and meander about the gardens outside the Hitachiin mansion. The night was crisp and she was thankful that Kyoya only needed Tamaki and twins for their "mission". She rolled her eyes at the word. It seemed somewhat pretentious and she felt that Kyoya was still not telling them everything. Haruhi sighed. "Typical Kyoya."

She thought about the black book he carried and began to wonder what exactly was inside. At one point during their time at Ouran Academy while she was finishing her last year, she had stumbled upon it. However she was disappointed with its contents when she found it held only numbers and names of their wealthy classmates. Certainly it was of no importance then, however she believed it could very well possess crucial information if she were to check it again. She paused near a rose bush and pinched her nose when she began to think about her own little black book. No one had found it, or even actually knew about the thing but it too possessed names and numbers.

Haruhi stared at her feet and grimaced towards the thought. That book was practically a running tab when she had used it. The faint crunching of gravel pulled Haruhi out of her thoughts causing her to glance up. Takashi was walking towards her. He looked as if he was a ghost and it brought a slight smile to Haruhi's face.

"Takashi," she greeted him remembering to use his first name. The syllables felt odd as they rolled off her tongue.

He inclined his head towards her as she spoke his name. "Hmmm?"

"Where's Honey?" she asked as they fell into step walking through the gardens.

Takashi shrugged, "Sleeping I assume. Mitsukuni wasn't exactly pleased that Kyoya hadn't made him part of the plan for tonight."

Haruhi furrowed her brows but couldn't think much of it. Honey wasn't exactly the same as he used to be. He was certainly more grown up but his childish side still seemed to get the best of him. "Oh."

Takashi nodded and kept in pace with Haruhi as they made their way back towards the mansion. Once on the back patio Takashi paused before taking a seat on one of the outside sofas. It was a dark brown wicker with dark purple cushions. Haruhi raised her brow and with a shrug took a seat next to her tall friend. They both sat in silence for a while, enjoying the night air.

"Haruhi," Takashi whispered breaking the silence. His cool grey eyes caught her gaze causing Haruhi's throat to go dry.

She tilted her head in response waiting for Takashi to continue. His eyes flickered back and forth as he searched her face. "If you need any help with law school…you can call me," he said before breaking eye contact.

Haruhi gave him a small smile and nodded. "Thank you Takashi." She couldn't deny that the air around them was becoming a bit awkward. His pressing silence was sometimes discomforting. Haruhi began to feel the weight of his scrutiny as he continued to gaze down at her through the corner of his eye. It was unwavering and in that instant she felt the pang of guilt as if she had let everyone down.

Haruhi mentally shook herself and gave Takashi a weak smile. Her secret could wait. "It's been a long time since we all got together as a group…" she commented.

Takashi nodded and leaned back in the sofa causing the wicker to creak. "A lot has changed since we all last met for your graduation. You know it's been three years?" he asked in a sullen voice.

Haruhi tucked her legs closer and nodded. "Yes." Their idle chatting was practically agonizing. _I liked it better when you were blunt or silent,_ she mentally grumbled. She watched as Takashi hummed and placed his hand on her shoulder. His long and lanky muscled arm stretched across the back of the wicker couch. Haruhi noted how soft his hand felt on her shoulder.

"We missed you Haruhi," he spoke in a low voice that Haruhi had to strain her ears to catch.

In that moment she wished she hadn't heard his words. And as she chewed on the words she found that she too had missed them, but she had simply learned to live without them.

Haruhi placed a hand over Takashi's and peered back up at her friend.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

"Why are you sorry Haru-chan?" Honey cut in.

Haruhi lifted her head and gave a guilty look to her sandy blonde friend as the feeling washed over her and settled like a cloud of smoke. Her eyes followed him as he padded over and joined them on the couch, situating himself in the middle. Takashi quickly retracted his hand from Haruhi's shoulder and let it fall over the back of the couch. He too sent a guilty look towards his best friend.

With a long exhale Haruhi mustered up her words. "I'm sorry for disappearing and leaving you all left without answers," she said. Haruhi could strike their names off the list of apologies she needed to give out amongst her friends.

Honey rested his hand on Haruhi's knee and leaned into her until their shoulders were touching. He finally spoke as he rested his head close to her neck, "You're hear now Haru-chan," he said, his breath tickling Haruhi's exposed skin.

Takashi stiffened as he watched his cousin do what he so desperately wanted to be able to do. He envied how free Mitsukuni could be around Haruhi, as well as how affected Haruhi was by all of the others when they showed her affection. Takashi began to wonder if he would ever affect her the way the others did.

"Takashi?" Honey asked waving his hand in front of Takashi's face and snapping him out of his thoughts. "I'm gonna go find some cake," Honey added as he got up from his spot on the couch and headed back inside. Takashi's eyes followed the blonde until he was only a shadow in the distance of the dimly lit mansion.

Wanting to leave before the awkward silence ensued, Haruhi too got up from the wicker couch. "I guess I will see you in the morning Mori-sen-"

Before Haruhi could utter another word Takashi had grasped her hand and was pulling her towards him. Haruhi's heart skipped and then sped up as she came to be only inches away from Takashi's face. Her eyes widened, awestruck from Takashi's abnormal actions. She watched in paralyzed stupor as Takashi glided his hand up her neck to cup her cheek, his eyes partially glazed over as he brought her even closer.

"Takashi," he corrected before colliding his lips briefly with hers.

Haruhi barely had time to process what was happening, and then just as quickly as it had come, the kiss was over and she was left a wild shade of red.

Takashi didn't speak as he quickly stood and walked inside the mansion.

"What the hell?" Haruhi whispered as she sat alone on the cold cement of the dimly lit patio.

* * *

A/N: _Please let me know if there are any typos, I proofread but sometimes I can be a bit dyslexic._


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: _Hi all, sorry for the late-ish update. I've had a very busy weekend and it seemed to roll into this week. Thank you for the reviews and continuing to read this story. I hope I don't disappoint with this chapter. Make sure to review and let me know what you think!_

Don't Own Characters***

Enjoy~

* * *

Kyoya's frown loosened as he drove his way back to the Hitachiin mansion. His phone vibrated in his lap. His eyes immediately glanced down at the device and he gave an audible grumble. His father's name appeared on his missed call list for the fourth time that night and he couldn't help but ignore each call. He had no desire to speak with the man who was currently ruining his life's dream, all for a few high-class hookers and an inability to quit his gambling. Stuck in his reverie Kyoya's mind took a left turn and tumbled into his conversation with Haruhi. He began to wonder why else she would've jeopardized her career and dreams. Their situations weren't as different as he had initially assumed.

"Perhaps there was an ulterior motive. Was her father in trouble?" he asked aloud to no one in particular before shaking his head. "No that couldn't be it, Ranka would've called us or talked to Mrs. Hitachiin about it…Haruhi did seem to fall off the face of the earth during that year," Kyoya continued speaking aloud as he drove in an attempt to figure out an explanation.

Even as he drove up the long driveway of the mansion he had yet to figure anything out other than maybe that Haruhi had to have a good motive behind what she did. It had been nearly two hours since the party had ended and he could still feel the buzz of the alcohol flutter through his brain and limbs. Kyoya silently walked through the halls as he finally reached the patio in hopes to think alone. Instead he found Haruhi silently admiring the stars beyond the patio. Her eyes reflected the moon and the dim lights that were strung along the patio's structure. She seemed oddly serene, as if she was supposed to be in a glass case than lying sprawled out on a wicker patio couch.

A faint smile drew over Kyoya's lips as he leaned against the frame of the French doors. Without breaking her gaze Haruhi's lips moved to form words that Kyoya couldn't quite make out. He leaned in a bit closer and cocked his head to the side.

"Haruhi?" he asked hesitantly.

"What?" her eyes hardened as she met his gaze.

If looks could kill Kyoya knew he would be a dead man. "I-

"Don't," she sighed, her blissful moment ruined by his mere presence. "Still haven't figured out how I could've done such a thing? And what exactly are you doing in order to get back at your father?" she demanded.

Kyoya stood silent for a moment as he considered how to answer her question without actually telling her what he was doing. Surely everyone knew what he was doing right? He was tired of living the straight and narrow life. He was tired of allowing his father to control him simply because he held power over his own monetary funds. He wanted to live and make his name known, not just as an Ootori, but also as _the_ Kyoya Ootori. But then again that could've been the alcohol talking.

"Well?" Haruhi said pulling him from his thoughts.

He pulled his glasses from his face and pinched his nose, his emotions beginning to overwhelm him. "Are you willing to do anything for me?" he finally asked.

Haruhi gave him a hard stare and tilted her head. _Would she?_ Haruhi shrugged, hesitant and unsure as to where he was going.

He closed the space between them in a few short steps. "How did you do it?"

"Um..what do you mean? Do what exactly?" she asked, confused.

"How did you transport the drugs? I need to know."

"I got creative. Why are you asking me all of this?" she replied.

Kyoya took a seat on the arm of the wicker sofa she sat on. "I have data. I have names and I have people who would pay a lot of money to achieve the things I know and possess. There are also some people who want to use us as pack mules for lack of a better term," he paused to assess her reaction. Her face was emotionless but he could see she was intrigued.

"Over seas there are some wealthy people that need to know trade secrets of businesses here. I also need you all to help not only create distractions but to obtain some items that I otherwise couldn't obtain alone."

Haruhi furrowed her brows for a moment as she took everything in and chewed on the information. "I was wondering why you needed all of us. But you're talking about stealing Kyoya. You know that these people will have hired guns to track us and kill us if we don't meet their expectations?" she asked as her eyes searched Kyoya's.

He nodded. "Yes I know all of this. But I want to build an empire Haruhi. I want you all to be comfortable. You aren't the only one struggling these days. Despite if I don't show it, you all are my family," he said in a low voice.

Haruhi's eyes widened in shock. "What do you mean I'm not the only one struggling?" she asked.

Kyoya shook his head and put a finger to her lips. "That is another conversation for another time. That is also not my story to tell."

Haruhi cast her eyes down and rubbed her temples out of frustration. This was a lot to spring on someone, yet she had asked for it. She wanted to know so Kyoya told her. For once he wasn't keeping everything locked up and it was slightly reassuring to her that he wasn't just a vault of information. Some inkling of him had feelings for them all, and regarded their well being, even if it was only slightly. Haruhi shook herself of her thoughts and stood from the couch. After Takashi's surprise attack she truly didn't have the energy to deal with any more of Kyoya's antics.

"Well aren't you curious about how tonight went?" Kyoya asked quirking a brow and crossing his arms smugly.

Haruhi resisted rolling her eyes and shook her head. "No. I figure you got whatever you wanted and from what I can smell, you drank a bit and partied. So with that, I take it the night went well enough."

Kyoya's eyes widened slightly in surprise, he couldn't deny she was a smart woman. "Haruhi, in six weeks we will be doing something a bit dangerous. Do you still have your passport?" he asked.

"Yes," she replied standing and crossing her arms.

Kyoya narrowed his eyes and swept them over Haruhi in a swift motion before turning on his feet and leaving the patio.

* * *

The following morning Haruhi awoke to an oddly empty bed. Her eyes darted around the room as she half-heartedly searched for any signs of either Hikaru or Kaoru. _Did they not come back last night?_ She sighed and threw an arm over her face, not wanting to deal with her reality quite yet. Hell she even contemplated staying in bed all day. Being with everyone again was exhausting. "Just like the good old days I suppose," she grumbled under her breath.

"I suppose you're right," Kaoru said stumbling into the room with his brother in tow.

Haruhi gave a yelp as both men bounced onto her bed causing it to creak and sway under their combined pressure. Hikaru inched his way up until his face was level with Haruhi's, she inhaled and regretted it instantly. He reeked of sex and alcohol.

"You should probably get ready, boss man says we are leaving," Kaoru called as he went into Haruhi's bathroom.

Haruhi rolled over to face her bathroom to frown at the other twin. "Why are we leaving?"

"How are we supposed to know? Orders are orders," Hikaru grumbled from behind her, his arms slowly making their way around her waist causing Haruhi to stiffen.

Her frown deepened at the unwanted touch as well as the newly relayed information. With a loud sigh Haruhi smacked away Hikaru's arms and got up from her bed. To her horror and most likely Hikaru's amusement she remembered she was only wearing a thong and a loose crop top t-shirt. Out of sheer habit she had gone to bed in the very garments she used to wear whenever her old mack would spend the night. A hint of a smirk ghosted over her lips at the memory; he had always been good to her.

"Damn Haruhi, I wouldn't necessarily classify those as pajamas," Hikaru commented from the bed.

Haruhi rolled her eyes in response and headed towards her closet. "So are we supposed to pack or what?" she asked not dignifying Hikaru's comment with the reaction she knew he was hoping for. Being a call girl had thickened her skin from catcalls and stupid comments.

"Yes, boss just said a carry on would be best since we are taking our jet," Kaoru's voice sounded from somewhere in the room.

Haruhi nodded and grimaced at her clothes. She still hated packing; that was one thing that hadn't changed. Before the twins could pack for her, Haruhi pulled out her suitcase and threw in whatever caught her eye.

"So where are we going exactly?" she asked placing her suitcase next to the door before joining Hikaru and Kaoru on the bed. She couldn't help but notice the pout that formed over Hikaru's lips as his eyes hovered on her distressed boyfriend jeans, and fought the urge to stick out her tongue.

"Not sure, thought I heard the word France…but we were both still pretty hung-over when boss man was barking out orders," Kaoru said with a sheepish smile. His hand rubbed the back of his head mussing up his auburn hair even further.

"You two sure are helpful this morning," Haruhi responded filling her voice with sarcasm. Getting up from the bed once more, she beckoned for the twins to follow her downstairs where the others were waiting.

* * *

Haruhi inhaled deeply as she took her seat on the private jet. Her palms began to sweat as she nervously waited for the plane to take off on the airstrip. Four pairs of eyes stared at her as she made herself comfortable in her oversized seat. Haruhi ignored their gazes and looked out the window as the clouds pillowed up around the jet reminding her of a soft comforter. She noticed a certain orange haired twin had made his way over and managed to take the seat next to her despite it being filled with a few of her personal belongings.

Her nose filled with his cologne as he slowly inched closer. A mixture of vodka, mint, and leather swirled around her causing the thoughts and sentence structures to vacate her mind.

"Guess we're going to Spain," Hikaru grumbled as he curled into Haruhi's shoulder.

She hummed in approval and didn't bother to move him despite his intoxicating presence that was slowly giving her a headache. "I've never been to Spain before," she commented.

Hikaru nodded his head. "Yeah, it's nice," he added in a sleepy voice.

"Hikaru?"

"Yeah?" he was now breathing on her neck.

"You're cologne is overwhelming," she finally said.

Hikaru gave a low chuckle in response. "I know," he said before closing his eyes.

Haruhi shook her head in response and glanced at the cup of coffee that had been placed before her. She took it off the table, and gingerly brought it to her lips, completely aware of the now gently snoring twin nuzzled into the crook of her neck.

"How come he gets to nuzzle your neck Haruhi?" Tamaki whined as he took the seat directly across from Haruhi and her softly snoring shadow.

This incited an eye roll Haruhi and a small grunt from Hikaru. "I don't know maybe because you would turn it into a chance to make some ridiculous move on me, or do some other equally ridiculous thing," she said bluntly.

Tamaki sank back in his seat, placing a hand over his heart. "I would never my dear Haruhi," he exclaimed taken aback by Haruhi's blatant and harsh words.

"How long until we are off this death trap anyway? And why are we suddenly rushing off to Spain?" Haruhi asked, attempting to change the subject before Tamaki became a crying mess in the corner.

"We have about twelve hours until we land. And traveling by air is one of the safest ways to travel, as well as the fastest I might add," Kyoya cut in from somewhere behind Haruhi.

She cringed at his voice and gave him an eye roll as well. "It's also the most expensive and luxurious," she mumbled under her breath, barely audible for even Hikaru to hear.

"You forgot to answer the why part Kyoya," she added after a few seconds of silence. She could almost hear the smirk in Kyoya's voice as he spoke.

"That can wait until we land and are all awake. Takashi and Honey are also dozing off near the back of cabin, I never 'forget' things Haruhi," he hissed.

"Just wake me when we land," Haruhi said as she turned back to the window.

As Haruhi closed her eyes she let out a small sigh and figuratively patted herself on the back for avoiding Takashi this long. All she had to do was pretend to sleep until they safely landed in Spain, and perhaps she could even avoid him after that. Behind the darkness of her closed lids, Haruhi silenced her thoughts about Takashi and in contempt of her own efforts, fell asleep.

* * *

A/N: _Sorry if this chapter had a bit too much going on, but you will find out what exactly is going down in Spain in the next chapter and perhaps a bit more of Takashi and Haruhi ;) Each of the character's secrets are slowly coming out, well to you as readers anyways. Also, I am still trying to decide on how to go about developing Takashi's and Haruhi's relationship, so if you have any comments or anything to say about that feel free to let me know! If you have any questions message me! Thank you so much for reading :) Leave a review if you want as well. Kay bye ^_^_


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: _Well here is the next chapter, if anyone is reading this still. If not that's fine too, I hope you enjoy this chapter._

* * *

Haruhi grimaced as she felt herself being lifted and then carried causing her to pry a tired eye open to see Takashi peering down at her with his steely grey eyes. Still swimming in the haziness that bordered on consciousness, Haruhi gave a soft smile and allowed her heavy lids to close once more as she was again consumed by sleep.

She awoke twenty minutes later to find herself in an SUV seated next between Honey and Takashi. She blinked away the remnants of sleep that clouded around her eyes and let out a small yawn. The time difference was surely going to kick her in the ass. Realization of who she was seated next to slowly washed over her, and Haruhi mentally kicked herself.

 _So much for avoiding Takashi,_ she grumbled to herself.

She took a glance out the window and gave a small smile in awe towards the beautiful city streets of Spain, wherever in Spain that actually was. "So _where_ are we exactly?" she asked to no one in particular. Glancing around she became aware that both Hikaru and Koru were passed out in the back seats behind her, and Tamaki was enthralled in some travel guide pamphlet in the passenger seat. Kyoya was oblivious to her question, as he appeared to be engrossed in the task of maneuvering the streets. Her only options to answer were either Takashi or Honey, and she was hoping to get a response from the latter.

"Barcelona, isn't it beautiful Haru-chan?" Honey asked squeezing Haruhi's hand in excitement.

Haruhi raised her brows and continued to peer out the heavily tinted window. "Yeah it really is," she agreed taking in the tall buildings. Each building looked as if it were from another world, as she if had stepped into some romance novel. Everything was colored in warm hues and artful statues from gothic eras detailed the structures almost creating an eerie atmosphere. It was overwhelming, yet in the most beautiful way.

"Just wait until we get to the beach villas we are staying at. They're spectacular," Takashi added giving Haruhi a quick wink sending her into hyper-drive.

 _Did Takashi seriously just wink at me?!_ She practically imploded at the playful side of Takashi she had never once experienced; the gesture was so abnormal it nearly sent her reeling. Haruhi swallowed and avoided Takashi's gaze, finding her cuticles absolutely intriguing.

"We should go to Sagrada Familia, or the Gaudi, oh or the-"

"May I remind you that one, we are here for business, and two that I am trying to concentrate. So if you would kindly shut up Tamaki that would be wonderful," Kyoya hissed at his overly dramatic friend.

Tamaki sank in his seat and crossed his arms in defeat. "Someone didn't get enough sleep," he grumbled under his breath.

Haruhi rolled her eyes at the two and gave a small laugh at their exchange, they still acted like an old married couple. "Well where are we staying then? In the city?" she looked out the window once more to see they were now driving along a narrow road lined with beach houses, "Or apparently the beach…what is it with you guys and your beach houses?" she asked with a hint of incredulity.

Kyoya cleared his throat and smirked, "Technically we aren't staying in a beach house per se, it's considered a holiday villa. Also, beach houses are best because they are secluded and away from the prying eyes of the public."

"How much longer until we arrive?" Honey asked, his brown eyes widening a bit in anticipation.

Haruhi felt him squeeze her hand again and wondered when all of the guys started getting all touchy with her, had she really been away from them that long? She dismissed the thought and gave Honey's hand another squeeze back feeling slightly guilty for all the lost time she had created simply cause she had ran into trouble. Would now be the time to tell them? She shuddered at the inclination as uncertainty built in her stomach making her feel a bit nauseous. Takashi caught her eye giving her an inquisitive look that reminded her she was still in the SUV with six pairs of prying eyes. She instinctively brushed it off and gave Takashi a small smile of reassurance that she was fine.

The car filled with silence the rest of the trip aside from some quiet snoring from Hikaru and Kaoru who were still fast asleep, Haruhi managed not to fall asleep herself on Takashi's shoulder despite how inviting it seemed with his arm draped over the back of their bench seat.

Tamaki stirred in his seat causing Haruhi to look up through the windshield. The beach house was huge, but what else would she expect from her group of rich friends. It was lavish and beautiful, and she hadn't even entered the house yet. The house itself was surrounded by vineyards and tucked away, secluded from the other homes that dotted the hillside. Haruhi marveled at the cobblestone built house that she figured could bed fifteen people and would still have room.

"So what do you think Haruhi?" Tamaki asked twirling her around as the others grabbed their small suitcases.

Haruhi gave Tamaki a smirk and steadied herself before speaking, "It's a bit large for the seven of us, but looks cozy," she added after his face faltered on a frown.

"What time is it?" Hikaru groaned half asleep and slightly disheveled from their hour-long drive. Kaoru joined his brother in a yawn as they walked together towards the house with the others.

"There are ten bedrooms, but only two are master rooms," Kyoya said unlocking the large wooden door complete with black wrought iron fixtures.

Haruhi watched the sly grins cover Hikaru and Kaoru's faces and their mischievous gears begin to spin. Kyoya gave them a side-glance that dared them to try one of their schemes that sent chills down even Haruhi's spine. "You break it, you buy it," was all Kyoya muttered as he opened the door allowing everyone in.

Haruhi stood in awe at the rustic, and cozy interior of the house. Despite being worth undeniably more than her life, the house was a far contrast from the lavish interiors of the previous places she had stayed with any of her friends. Aside from perhaps Takashi who was far more earthy and minimalistic than the others, Haruhi blushed at the sentiment her heart racing as her mind wandered back to their chaste kiss.

"Haruhi?" Hikaru asked snapping his fingers.

She gave a sheepish smile and returned her focus to whatever the group was apparently discussing. To her relief it was mere banter about who should get the master rooms and who should be stuck with the single beds. Haruhi was blatantly indifferent about either.

Kyoya had his posture straight and his eyes glaring a small blaze. "I will take the master. Haruhi can take the other one since she's the lady in the house, and the rest of you can get the singles," Kyoya commanded, ending the argument with a smirk and readjustment of his glasses.

Haruhi rolled her eyes and the thought she'd been wondering the whole trip resurfaced. "So Kyoya why are we in Spain?" she asked aware of the four sets of eyes that flickered between herself and Kyoya.

"For business. I have a plan that will be executed over the course of the next few weeks. So get comfortable," he said before grabbing his own bags and disappearing into the hallway.

Haruhi rolled her eyes and her mouth gaped a bit, she had only packed for maybe a week, if that.

"Don't worry Haruhi, if you need more clothes, we can always have more sent in," Kaoru offered. He read her like a book.

"There are a few shopping centers further in the city that we can go to as well," Tamaki added. Haruhi gave an annoyed smile and grabbed her bags, hoping the others would follow suit and made her way through the hallways.

Haruhi trudged down the hallway, her jet lag becoming increasingly visible as she poked her way through the beach villa. The kitchen was bigger than her entire apartment, and it had the largest oven she'd ever seen. Her room had it's own private bathroom, to which was grateful for. She could slightly hear Tamaki begin to complain about his small bed from across the hall causing her to giggle.

Hikaru and Kaoru were upstairs with Takashi and Honey, and Tamaki and Kyoya were on the ground floor with her. Haruhi sighed, she didn't mind being on the ground floor, but she certainly wasn't thrilled about being within a few feet of Kyoya and a needy Tamaki. Both she figured probably wouldn't leave her alone. Her bed was inviting and within a few minutes she was laying in the soft sheets, her mind swirling as sleep pulled her towards unconsciousness.

* * *

Kyoya muttered to himself as he unpacked his necessities and neatly folded his shirts placing them in the drawers. He pushed his glasses up and pulled out stacks of papers he had carefully tucked away. The floor plans sat slightly crumpled on the desk in front of him, Kyoya's finger trailed along the markers he had labeled _entrance, guard, painting one, vault,_ and so on. He had pictures of each guard as well as their time of watch paired with what hall or wing they supervised. Next to the sprawled out parchments were tickets and an abundance of lists detailing each of his friends.

With a smirk he eyed the spread on his desk and gave himself a mental pat on the back, all he had to do was hope everyone did their part of his plan. "Perfect" he said aloud grabbing the tickets and brochure.

One by one Kyoya entered everyone's room, pitching them the idea of going sight seeing as a group. He had even bought tickets for each of them and added a look at the brochure for emphasis. Kyoya left every room with a small devious smile of success, every room apart from Haruhi's. He had other plans for her, and giving her an option to go was out of the question.

The last room he visited was Tamaki's. "Tamaki?" Kyoya asked waiting for his friend to welcome him in. Tamaki answered the door in loose white linen pants, his blonde hair slightly disheveled, Kyoya couldn't help but find him attractive.

"What's up mon amie?" Tamaki violet eyes caught Kyoya's and welcomed him in.

Kyoya's grip on the brochure and ticket tightened and he made his way towards the window seat, beckoning his blonde friend to join him. "So there's somewhere I think would be beneficial for us to visit while staying here in Barcelona," he began once Tamaki was seated. "I have a buyer in the Holy City that would love to give me a large sum in exchange for a very high priced item," he said in a low voice.

Tamaki nodded and gave a small smile. "How much?"

"106 million US dollars," Kyoya answered, his eyes danced filling with dollar signs.

"Anything else for sale?" Tamaki inquired further knowing Kyoya had more up his sleeve.

"Just some trade secrets that should put us ahead," he replied as his smirk grew wider. Kyoya pulled the ticket and brochure out of his pocket and handed it over to Tamaki. "We will scope the place out as visitors at the end of this week. With a keen distraction from the twins I will snap a few shots with my camera and then a duplicate will be made while we stay here. At the end of our stay here in Barcelona we will make one last trip to intersect our prize and replace it with the duplicate. What do you think?" Kyoya asked after giving Tamaki the usual rundown.

The blonde smiled and put a finger to his chin as he reviewed the plan, "What about Haruhi?" he inquired.

"She will be our cute little messenger girl, none of us can risk being seen with either painting. She's a commoner which plays to our advantage." Kyoya exulted. He nudged his glasses up and took one final look at Tamaki. "So what do you say?"

Tamaki gave a wild smile that made Kyoya's heart thrum, "Sounds…perfect," he purred.

* * *

A/N: Well there you have it. Chapter 6. Thank you for reading make sure to leave a review.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: _Oh hello there. Here's another chapter._

Don't Own Any Characters***

Enjoy~

* * *

Haruhi woke up hours later as the sun was beginning to set. Slightly disorientated, she shuffled to her small bag of clothes and picked up a small note that had been placed on top. She squinted at the small scribbles of letters that read _Come to the pool_. Haruhi sighed and rubbed her head as she tried to figure out whose writing it was, but as her memory failed her she crumpled the note and threw it in the waste bin then went in search of something that resembled a swimsuit.

Finding that she hadn't packed one, Haruhi grabbed a sports bra and frayed short cutoffs that were nearing their end anyways and threw them on. As she walked through the tile floors of the downstairs she made a mental note to find one whenever they went into town. Her palms began to sweat as she neared the in-ground pool that looked out to the mountainside. The sun was setting behind the hillside and casted over the pool; giving the whole scene a romantic edge. Haruhi gulped. She then took one look at who was sitting in one of the sun-chairs and gulped again. _Shit._

Haruhi inched closer until she was standing only a few feet away from Takashi who was lounging in the padded pool side chair. His swim trunks were damp and remnants of the pool dripped off his body causing Haruhi's mouth to water. The sun turned his tan skin a warm hue and when he looked up he gave her one of his rare smiles. She froze, her heart skipped and she cursed herself for not wearing a shirt.

 _Shit. Shit. Shit._ Haruhi forced her body to move and took seat in one of the other sun-chairs positioned next to Takashi. They sat in silence for a few awkward minutes as Haruhi waited for him to start as well as for her heart to stop drumming in her ears.

"The sunset is nice," Haruhi tried. Instantly regretting making such a vapid statement.

Takashi nodded in silence as Haruhi stared at the concrete surrounding the pool. She felt exposed, as if she hadn't worn anything instead of an old worn out sports bra and tattered shorts.

"You want to go for a walk?" Takashi finally asked breaking the thick silence.

Haruhi's mouth gaped at the unexpected suggestion. She realized she wasn't even wearing shoes. Takashi followed her gaze to her petite feet and an amused smirk flashed over his lips. Haruhi gave a sheepish smile and held out a finger.

"Be right back," she said before turning and speed walked to the front entryway where she had left her shoes. They were worn out converse but they would have to do, she decided then turned back towards the pool after slipping them on.

Takashi was already by the back entrance to the property leaning against a stucco wall that encased the patio area. It had a small wrought iron gate that he held open once Haruhi had finally rejoined him. Haruhi heard him release a faint breath that made the blood rush to her cheeks. Had he figured she wouldn't come with him? Haruhi pondered on the thought as they walked down the small trail.

"I enjoy your company the most Haruhi," Takashi said, his voice unwavering. His arm brushed against hers resulting in a lingering warmth that almost made her dizzy. She mentally shook herself and kept quiet waiting for him to continue, hoping he would. Takashi glanced down at her and turned his phone's flashlight on as the last glow of the house faded away the further they walked into the thicket of small bushes.

"I enjoy your company too Takashi," Haruhi added. Her eyes were glued to the faintly illuminated ground as she trained her focus on not tripping over anything.

The small thicket of bushes slowly dissipated as they furthered their path into the hillside, the moon was slowly rising over their heads illuminating what their flashlight couldn't. Haruhi allowed her mind to wander a bit as they walked, occasionally sneaking side glances at Takashi who seemed to be lost in his own world.

"What do you think we are in Spain for Takashi?" she asked stopping in her tracks.

Takashi glanced down at her before returning his gaze to the path before them, his eyes wavered bit as he contemplated how to respond. "I _know_ why we are in Spain. But before I can tell you that you have to tell me something. Haruhi what did you do before Kyoya dragged you into this mess? I need to know…"

Haruhi's eyes widened at Takashi's question, she wasn't ready to tell them. But she trusted Takashi and it wasn't entirely fair for her to keep secrets with her friends. Haruhi let out a long shaky breath. Her heart beginning to thrum in her ears and chest, Haruhi swallowed hard.

Takashi turned to face her, his grey eyes fixed on her own. The weight of his gaze created a tension that Haruhi couldn't bare. Her throat was dry and swallowing wasn't an option anymore. She blinked and shifted on her feet trying to buy time so she didn't have to tell him the truth. But she was stuck and it was going to come out eventually, or Kyoya would use it as leverage again. "I was caught up in some less than honorable things, horrible things really. Takashi I-" the words caught in her desert of a throat. Tears pooled in her eyes as her own vulnerability washed over her.

"It's okay Haruhi you don't-"

"No, its not fair to you that I want to know the truth when I cant even tell it myself," she said cutting Takashi off. With another shaky breath Haruhi gathered her courage and unclenched her fists. "I used to deal drugs for my Mack," she whispered.

Takashi furrowed his brows unsure what exactly she meant, "Is Mack his name?" he asked innocently.

Haruhi shook her head and suppressed the urge to giggle. "No, it's a less conspicuous name for a pimp. But before you jump to conclusions, I didn't whore myself out…necessarily. I did it for one of the girls I used to share a place with in college. She was miserably in debt and her boyfriend was a real piece of work so I helped her…I don't necessarily want to get into details. But the life took a toll on my grades and ability to study. To be completely transparent I failed most of my junior year, and I won't even be graduating. But I don't think law is for me anyways," she explained. Haruhi closed her eyes not able to face Takashi or the scrutinizing gaze she knew he was giving her.

They both stood waiting for the other to speak first. Haruhi wanted to run or sit and cry, she wasn't sure which but either felt inexplicably better than standing in silence waiting for Takashi to say something. What was even worse was his resolve. It was excruciating and almost insufferable, Haruhi began to go over all of the possible insults that were likely going through his mind.

"So you whored yourself out to help some needy girl you barely knew?" he asked.

Haruhi looked at him with incredulity; appalled at his word choice, yet she knew he was right. "Well I wouldn't have used those words necessarily, but I suppose it's all the same," she said realizing the anger was bubbling up before she could push it back down. "But what would any of you spoiled rich kids know about scratching and fighting to help a friend, or doing whatever necessary to get by? I did what I did to survive and help someone remove themselves from a less than desirable situation. But I am just a commoner who probably lived up to societal standards," she paused as the tears stung her eyes and fell down her cheeks, she wasn't just a failure, she had let them all down. "I didn't want to let you all down but the fucking pressure got to me!" she shouted letting her emotions take over.

"And now my past is catching up with me, people want me gone while others want me back to fill their own pockets and get ahead. Just like with Kyoya, I am a pawn," she whispered as the last of her anger that had bubbled up slowly fizzled out, leaving her with only sorrow and guilt in its place.

As she peered up she saw the hurt on Takashi's face. Then she turned on her heel and ran. The small shrubs grabbed at her feet as she stumbled back down the hillside towards the house. Their walk had panned out much differently than Haruhi had hoped and imagined. There wasn't any idle talk or reminiscing about the good old days, there was only hurt and anger and the cold hard truth. As she closed the wrought iron gate behind her she let out her breath and gasped for air.

"Whoever said the truth sets you free is god damn liar," she hissed between labored breaths.

As she heard Takashi's steps inch closer she squeezed her eyes shut and scrambled into a sprint once more towards the safety of her room. Her feet pounded on the tile floor while her heart pounded in her head. Not until her door was locked and her face buried in her pillow did Haruhi let out her breath. Haruhi cried into her pillow, her sobs muffled the further she buried her face into the fabric. A knock on her door caused her to briefly lift her head. She knew who was on the other side but she in no way wanted to face that metaphorical demon. Willing him to leave, Haruhi held her breath until his footsteps faded away from her door.

* * *

Haruhi woke to two amber eyes staring practically into her soul. Hikaru lay in her bed, staring at her with his nose almost touching her own. He gave her a wide smile and pecked her on the forehead. Haruhi quirked a brow but remained still silently reminding herself that these very actions used to be their norm. Forcing her lips up, Haruhi smiled in return and laced her fingers with Hikaru's soaking in their small moment.

"What was all the commotion last night?" Kaoru asked interrupting their moment as he entered the room from Haruhi's private bathroom. His towel was loosely wrapped around his waist. Haruhi ignored the sight and focused on the threads within her bed sheets.

"Just took a walk with Takashi, that's all," she replied. Her face twitched at her half lie.

Hikaru and Kaoru gave her an identical eye roll and proceeded to sandwich her between their bodies. She grumbled in protest for a moment before accepting defeat. A question lingered on the tip of her tongue as Hikaru absentmindedly played with her hair and Kaoru drew circles on her arm.

"So why was Kyoya making rounds with all of you yesterday?" she blurted out.

Both boys froze, caught off guard by her question. "It's a surprise," Hikaru winked, recovering from the initial shock of Haruhi's question. Kaoru mouthed a "thank you" to his twin and resumed his circles. Haruhi squinted at her best friends with suspicion apparent in her brown eyes.

With a small protesting huff Haruhi reached out and grabbed their ears, pulling down hard until they both screeched in protest. "Tell me what the heck is going on you two," she commanded with a dangerous smile.

Hikaru and Kaoru simultaneously gulped. "Haruhi," Kaoru groaned.

"We can't. It's better if you don't know," Hikaru added provoking an agreeing nod from his brother.

Haruhi rolled her eyes while still holding onto their ears. "I'm sick and tired of the secrets with everyone," she mumbled.

Kaoru ran a hand over his face and let out a heavy sigh. "Haruhi…"

"That's not really fair for _you_ of all people to say," Hikaru interjected. His amber eyes darkened and Haruhi knew she had poked the bear. Her hands relaxed and she brought them to her sides.

"Why don't we go get some breakfast?" Kaoru asked attempting to avert the fight.

"Yeah why don't you do that," Haruhi seethed.

Hikaru huffed and nodded to his brother, refusing to meet Haruhi's gaze as they walked out of her room.

Haruhi sat on the edge of her bed glaring as her emotions swirled in anger. She closed her eyes and shook her head, bewildered by how everyone was acting. With a defeated sigh Haruhi stood and picked up Kaoru's pants that were thrown on her floor. As she folded the jeans she noticed a piece of paper sticking out of the back pocket. Curious, Haruhi grabbed the paper and unfolded it to see that it was a ticket to a museum. Her brows furrowed, unsure as to what the ticket was for. Without a second glance Haruhi quickly stored the ticket in her bag and dropped the pants back to the floor.

"What the hell are you up to Kyoya?" she asked herself as she headed towards the kitchen to find the twins.

As Haruhi padded through the hallway she kept her gaze on the floor in hopes not to run into Takashi. He knew her secret; two down four to tell. Haruhi paused and pinched the bridge of her nose not wanting to think about telling the other hosts about her bleak past.

"Just the person I was looking for," Kyoya said making Haruhi freeze in her tracks.

"What now?" she asked impatiently. She took in Kyoya's disheveled appearance and quirked a brow. _Had he just gotten up? It was almost noon…but he wasn't coming out of his room, he was coming out of Tamaki's. Did they spend the night together?_ Haruhi's mouth gaped slightly at the internal realization. "Did you enjoy your night?" she quipped with a small smirk.

Kyoya's lips tightened into a thin line that dared her to implore the idea he was well aware was brewing in her mind. "Never mind how my night went, I was going to ask you about yours," he finished with his signature smirk.

Haruhi's mouth returned to its previous gaping position. "How the hell did you?" she began then shook her head not ready to give away anything if she was actually being baited. "What I do at night is none of your business. Kyoya can we cut the shit? Please?" she asked giving up on her hardened façade.

Kyoya tilted his head at her odd request and relaxed his arms in response, "Sure, although I'm not sure what 'shit' I've been putting out," he said coyly.

Haruhi gave an exasperated sigh and took Kyoya's arm pulling him into a nearby bathroom. She shut the door and locked it before continuing. "Kyoya I'm serious. What the hell are you scheming? I asked Hikaru and Kaoru what you were telling them and Hikaru flipped out on me, do you know how long it's been since he has actually snapped at me?" she paused at her rhetorical question waiting for a sarcastic remark from Kyoya.

He adjusted his glasses waiting for her to continue. Haruhi leaned on the sink, shifting so she was as far away from Kyoya as possible. "Not since Ouran has he snapped at me. I need to know what you are doing; I would like to be informed. But I won't sit here in this house and feel sorry for myself because no one is telling me anything. If that's the case I will gladly leave and go back home."

Kyoya glared behind his glasses as Haruhi babbled on, his anger getting the better of him. "Haruhi I don't want you to leave. But you are a burden to me, and the rest of the group. But not for the reasons you are probably thinking. I will have you know that each of us have hidden secrets, and the reason behind me not telling you is because the _less_ you know, the _better off_ you are. You are the messenger, and you know what people do to messengers?" he asked through gritted teeth.

Haruhi slowly nodded her head and gulped. Yes, of course she knew. She had seen on multiple occasions what had happened to messengers, they all ended up covered in red and beaten to death. She shook her head at the memories and figured the upper echelon did far worse to their messengers than she had ever witnessed by the petty drug dealers or pimps. "Yes," she whispered her response.

Kyoya's gaze softened and he clenched his fists. "So please spare me the drama you've been creating simply because you can't keep your nose to yourself," he said leaning against the bathroom door.

Haruhi cursed herself for being worked up. "I guess I deserve that. So what is the plan for me then oh mighty one?" she asked.

Kyoya's face turned haughty- his smirk growing by the second. "I will let you know depending on how the end of this week goes. For now, I would like you to shut your cumbersome mouth," he shot back.

Haruhi let his words roll off her shoulders and shrugged a response, too emotionally exhausted to retort. Biting her tongue, Haruhi kept her insults to herself and moved forwards to the door. Kyoya instinctively blocked her escape not quite ready to let her leave.

"I have one more thing to say; come to Tamaki's room later tonight. I suppose I can let you in on what to expect if the plan goes accordingly," he smirked then opened the door in one swift motion.

Haruhi shook her head and ignored how seedy everything was beginning to feel as she left the bathroom as well as Kyoya's presence. Her mind was trained on making amends with the twins and the others; she had finally decided to let them all in on her little secret.

* * *

A/N: _Well I hope you all enjoyed. Please leave a review if you can, and please let me know what ya think. I'm starting to feel like everything is just going so slow but soon everyone will finally get caught up on Haruhi's little secret. Then what? How will the other's react? And right before Kyoya can begin the plan for the museum? What does Takashi have to say to Haruhi so badly? Ugh so many answers to come for all these questions! Anyways, another update will be up **hopefully** by the end of this week because next week I will be going on vacation for my 21 run and getting plastered lol. (It's a right of passage in America, don't know why but eh). So wish me luck to my liver if I __don't get the update out before I leave for vacation/birthday. Thank you for reading! Kay bye ^_^_


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: _Hey everyone sorry I haven updated in so long, but I am back now! Thank you to everyone who reviewed and read the last chapter! I hope this one answers some of the questions that arose from the last chapter. Also thank you for the birthday wishes, I had a blast lol. Anyways, here is chapter eight._

 **Don't Own Characters*****

 _Enjoy~_

* * *

The only thing worse than contemplating how to tell her friends her secret, was the raging headache she had come by while debating the process. She knew none of the hosts would probably take the secret lightly, yet she had still managed to spend most of her day plotting it out. Her previous small chat with Kyoya in the bathroom hadn't done much either, aside from perhaps putting her on edge. Kyoya was becoming extremely good at doing just that. Haruhi huffed and glanced at the clock, checking the time, she realized it was already well past dinner and she had a hunch Kyoya and Tamaki were waiting for her.

She sat on her bed contemplating if it was truly worth getting up from the comforting sheets. Sighing, Haruhi forced herself out of bed and trudged out of the safety of her room, crossed the hallway and made a slight knock on Tamaki's bedroom door.

A faint shuffling sound filled her ears and soon Kyoya's face appeared in the crack as he held the door open a mere inch. He smirked and brought the door open wide enough for Haruhi to quickly squeeze through.

Obviously they wanted to keep their meeting hush hush. Haruhi rolled her eyes at the notion and traipsed into the dimly lit bedroom against her better judgment.

Tamaki's room was large but had a sense of intimacy and romance. Candles lined the surfaces of his desk, drawers, and bedside tables while the lilting keys of a piano filled the underling silence of the room. At the end of his silk-sheeted bed was a small trunk that had a blanket lying on top.

Haruhi took her seat on the trunk and turned towards Tamaki and Kyoya who were both sitting cross-legged on the king sized bed. A plethora of folders and pictures were strewn across the silk sheets. She couldn't help but peer at the papers. One in particular was a printed map of Rome. Haruhi quirked a brow and took a mental picture, saving the memory as she knew it would more than likely come in handy at some point. She then peered up at her friends and gulped as they peered back like vultures finding a decaying carcass.

"So what did you want to discuss?" she asked trying to clear the tension in the air.

"Glad you asked," Kyoya wore a seedy looking smirk that told Haruhi she wasn't going to like the outcome of their small meeting.

Tamaki on the other hand seemed nervous, but looked at Kyoya with hope and something similar to affection. Haruhi pursed her lips together unsure of what to make of their countenance.

"I have a plan for you Haruhi. Since you seem so willing to snoop and have nothing but time on your hands, we've decided to give you a very important…job."

Haruhi blanched at Kyoya's tone and she wondered how much trouble she was truly in for. But Tamaki was in on it, so it couldn't be that bad right?

Kyoya ignored the shift in Haruhi's facial expression and continued on with his explanation. "So, once everything goes off without a hitch, you will be waiting here at the house. Tamaki will be the one to give you an, well lets call it an item. You will then get straight on a small flight to Rome. Of course Tamaki will accompany you and then make the final sale."

Tamaki grinned as Kyoya spoke and Haruhi noticed the glint of affection in his violet eyes. She returned her attention to Kyoya and nodded. She was still hesitant about this so-called plan, yet she knew that neither Kyoya nor Tamaki would take no for an answer, and part of her yearned to get away from the group. She wanted her own part to fulfill.

Haruhi let out a breath and nodded her head. "Okay. What do I do until then?" she dared ask.

Tamaki let out a short laugh. "We spend the day out in public, away from the others. Think of it as a safe alibi," he grinned.

His smile made Haruhi's skin crawl. It was a mirrored image of Kyoya's and somehow that left her feeling uneasy, as if the room was suddenly spinning and she couldn't do anything to stop it. Sure what they were getting into was more than likely something short of illegal, or perhaps even completely criminal, but she had signed up for it.

Haruhi knew Kyoya would never let her or the others back out without some sort of reprimand. The more she thought about everything the more confused she became as to what kind of person Kyoya truly was. Who was he looking out for and what was his end game?

As Haruhi gave her confirmation and slid out of the dimly lit room the questions began to stack up in her mind. She needed to clear up her past with the others, but a lurking feeling was telling her to wait. As she closed the door behind her Haruhi stumbled into the last person she wanted to talk to. And his steely grey eyes were filled with more questions than her own.

* * *

Takashi had managed to bump into just the person he was looking for, although the hardened look on her face told him he was the last person she wanted to see. For some reason, the look on her face hurt causing a dull ache in his chest. She just needed to see that he was willing to try and understand. She certainly wasn't the only one with skeletons in her closet. But a simple explanation wasn't going to fix that.

Takashi gave her a pained smile. If that didn't give her the hint then he would leave her be, but as luck would have it he watched her gaze slowly soften. "Meeting with the King and his Prince?"

Haruhi smirked in lieu of his sarcasm. If Takashi were a flame, Haruhi was definitely a ball of wax. She was warming up and now was as good a chance as any. "Care to go sit by the pool? I promise no random walks through the hillside," he reassured her.

Haruhi still had her guard up but nodded and followed behind him as they made the way outside and sat at the edge of the pool.

Takashi relaxed as he dipped his legs into the water and watched Haruhi do the same. She kicked in the water causing the pool to ripple. He couldn't help but smile to himself.

Takashi truly hated speaking, but since Haruhi had left the group and sequestered into her own world he had managed to find a way to speak without feeling embarrassed or unheard. Sure, he was a man of few words but if he had any chance with Haruhi at all he had to speak up.

"You aren't the only one who had a bad couple of years Haruhi," he blurted. He peered to his left to see her face twist into disbelief.

"What do you mean? Did you all get cut off as well? Did you struggle to make ends meet and have to sell yourself to help a friend get by?" she shot back.

Takashi ran a hand through his hair, her words were well deserved but not all of them were pretty rich boys. His face hardened with each verbal dig.

"Did you have to watch innocent and good people get their faces kicked in simply because they came up short?" Haruhi's callous exterior crumbled before Takashi's eyes as each rhetorical question was blurted out.

He silently and painfully watched as Haruhi began to let her tears fall. Before he could think he was bringing her into his lap and holding his beloved friend. He held on tighter as she shook.

"I cant begin to imagine what any of that feels like or how hard it all was. But why did you shut us all out? Even the trouble twins. You should know something about me," he paused long enough for Haruhi to meet his gaze. "I helped Mitsukuni kill someone. I also sent a lot of innocent people to the hospital…some barely alive."

Haruhi's mouth gaped but Takashi put a finger to her parted lips. "I didn't do it because we needed money or for myself, we needed to take out a criminal, and I so happened to be good at fighting. The guy was running everything from drugs to trafficking, and even fight clubs." Takashi paused for a moment to let Haruhi catch up. She slid her fingers between Takashi's and gave him a pitiful look.

He frowned and peered down at her, his impassiveness returning to his features. "I don't want your pity or concern. I just wanted you to know that you aren't the only one out of the group with a past and dark secrets," he add3ed waiting for Haruhi to respond.

They both sat in silence for a long while before Haruhi removed herself from Takashi's lap. He gave a curious look but decided not to push the boundaries. He wanted Haruhi to feel comfortable around him.

"Did anyone else have any part in it? Aside from Honey obviously," she asked. Haruhi's face scrunched in anticipation but relaxed when Takashi shook his head.

He rolled his shoulders and got up from the warm concrete ledge of the pool. He held out his hand to Haruhi and helped her up, a hint of a smirk lingered on his lips. She swayed towards him and inhaled, receiving a wave of Haruhi's pleasant cherry blossom scent. It was a comforting scent that had him reminiscing to their days in Ouran.

As they walked along the concrete tat eventually turned into tile flooring Takashi remained silent while Haruhi babbled on about one thing or another. How she wanted to go back to university but she still wasn't completely committed to the idea, or how her roommate from college stole her food. It was oddly innocent but he kept in mind the dark path that loomed before them.

Takashi stopped before Haruhi's room the darkness of his last thought still lingering in his steely eyes. He had no intention of ruining their casual night and waited for Haruhi to open the door. Before she could close the door he gently pulled arm bringing them only inches apart. "Make sure to be careful Haruhi, especially with Kyoya."

* * *

A/N: _Okay there you have it! My classes are starting back up soon so I hope to put out a chapter every week until then, but once school starts the chapters may take two weeks to complete and post! Please review and if you have any questions/concerns feel free to message me! Thanks for reading! Kay bye! ^_^_


	9. Chapter 9

_A/N: *Opens door slowly and looks around* Is anyone even still here? is anyone still even reading this story? If so thank you. If not I understand. Sorry for the sorta hiatus on this story. I was busy with college but now I have time because i graduated so I'm trying to wrap up this and one other story. Dont expect any regular updates because I'm still finishing this story. Anyways, again thank you for reading._

 _**Dont own characters_

Enjoy~

* * *

Haruhi's mind reeled as Takashi's warning played fresh in her mind. She tossed and turned in bed unsure of what it was that made him say such a thing. She knew Kyoya wasn't all bad, was Takashi simply trying to protect her? She grumbled and slid from the bed onto her feet, she was simply too restless to lie in bed and let her mind wander. Pulling on her sweatshirt and grabbing her phone, Haruhi made her way out through the hallways and ascended the stairs to the second floor.

As Haruhi slowed her pace, she paused where the hallway split, she could either go right and go towards Takashi and Honey, or she could go left and end up snuggling with Hikaru and Kaoru. She pressed a finger to her chin while she stood contemplating her options.

"Haru-chan?"

Haruhi took a step back against the wall- her heart skipped a beat while she struggled to collect herself. "Honey-senpai you scared the hell out of me!" She kept her voice low trying not to wake up the whole house.

Honey chuckled and held out a hand giving a small smile when Haruhi grasped it and laced her fingers with his. "I was getting a late night snack," he said making his way back down the stairs towards the kitchen.

Haruhi tiptoed behind him. "Of course you were."

Honey shrugged and they continued on into the kitchen. Haruhi leaned against the counter while Honey made quick work of the tiramisu, and turned to look back at Haruhi. She licked her lips at the decadent treat, and Honey cut her a piece as well. With a kick of the fridge door, Honey grabbed both plates and motioned towards the garden terrace adjacent to the pool.

Haruhi followed him with a bottle of wine that she had pulled from the small wine stack that sat in the kitchen nook. As they sat Haruhi wondered if Honey would even want wine, but shrugged at the thought and took a long swig from the bottle regardless.

"Takashi came to bed late," Honey mentioned cutting a small piece then shoving into his mouth.

Haruhi took another swig of the wine. "Yeah we talked for a bit," she paused cutting off a piece from her own slice of tiramisu, "Can I ask you something?"

Honey nodded reaching his hand out for the bottle that Haruhi was unconsciously hoarding. She handed it over with a reluctant sigh.

"Do you have any secrets Honey-senpai?"

He paused mid bite, put the fork down on the plate, then took a long pull from the wine instead.

Haruhi waited for him to answer and shoveled a bite of her own into her mouth.

"I think we all have secrets. So yeah I guess I do."

Haruhi continued taking bites of her dessert avoiding having to reciprocate the conversation.

"I suppose I mainly just have one major secret, but I'm sure Takashi has probably told you by now," he continued, resting his arms up on the table. "But this group isn't as close as it once was, and of course we are going to have some skeletons in the closet at some point."

"I suppose you're right."

Honey quirked his brow at Haruhi's response.

"I just don't want my skeletons being used against me," she continued, her eyes cast down at her plate.

Honey's fork rested in his mouth while he thought about Haruhi's words. After a few short moments he finally took the fork out and set it on his plate. "And you don't think that a certain someone wouldn't use your skeletons against you regardless to whether everyone knew or not? Haru-chan you know him better than that."

Haruhi gulped in realization and nodded, Honey was right and before she could respond he was up out of his chair and moving towards the house. Haruhi went to follow, then sat back down with a thump in her chair. She took hold of the wine and tipped it back against her lips. The dark liquid poured down the back of her throat as she finished off the bottle.

Haruhi moved slowly back into the house and trudged back up the stairs. The wine began to dull her senses and make her mind tingle. She could feel the liquid courage take over with every step she made towards the people she needed the most.

She stopped at the bedroom door and knocked, rapping her knuckles against the soft wood.

"Haruhi?" Kaoru's raspy voice filled her ears.

"Can I come sleep wiffchu?" she asked, her words slurred and she swayed against the doorframe.

Hikaru shuffled over and helped his twin grab onto Haruhi bringing her over into their bed. It was a queen and all three entwined together as a last ditched attempt to fit onto the mattress. No questions were asked as Haruhi fell into her drunken slumber and the twins did what they did best cuddling their friend unsure what was going on until they too fell asleep.

* * *

The next few days everyone prepared for the heist. Hikaru sat glued to his laptop, combing over the layouts and technology used in the security system used by the museum. Kyoya sat rather close to him studying the layout himself. Takashi and Honey went over various strategies for their escape plan, each nodding or confirming with a simple hum to the various options. Haruhi watched from the kitchen as each man was buried in research about the museum and how it operated.

She quietly sipped from the fine china that Tamaki had produced from one of his suitcases. The kitchen was relatively quiet; Haruhi could hear the simple hum of the refrigerator that seemed to echo throughout the space. Her head felt as if someone was constantly pressing down onto and around it—although not quite the worst hangover she had ever experienced, it was still uncomfortable.

"Where's Kaoru?" Tamaki asked his voice was loud enough to make Haruhi visibly cringe.

She pressed a finger to her temple and massaged lightly as Tamaki took the seat across from hers. He gave her a knowing smirk that reflected Kyoya's in the most discerning way. Haruhi took a sip of her coffee in an attempt to not have to meet his gaze. "I believe he went to the store?" she paused setting her teacup down onto its flower embossed saucer. "Kyoya sent him off. Are you not partaking in the planning?"

Tamaki's eye winced ever so slightly at the question but he smiled regardless. "No, we have other plans." His lips were pulled tight and Haruhi could tell he was agitated.

"Oh?"

Tamaki slid a couple of tickets he produced from his jacket pocket onto the table towards Haruhi. "We get to scout the museum, and I finally can take you sight seeing!" He clapped with a giddiness that could only be portrayed by Tamaki.

Haruhi groaned in mock displeasure but gave Tamaki a smile. Despite having to be holed up with him all day, at least she was able to sight see. She slid the ticket closer and scanned it over before returning it back to its rightful owner.

"I suppose I should get ready then?"

Tamaki nodded with vigor.

Haruhi took the out and ran with it, excusing herself from the table and the others before retreating to her room. All the while she could feel the burn of Kyoya's scrutinizing gaze. She knew he was watching her carefully, and that she was stuck with Tamaki for reasons only truly known to Kyoya. If she had to guess it was to make sure she didn't run off or start a coup. She rolled her eyes at the notion.

Once securely in her room Haruhi took her sweet time getting ready and picking out an outfit. She padded about her room doing the simple tasks that should have only taken minutes. Yet, she couldn't pass up a way to make Tamaki wait and squirm in his designer pants.

 _Maybe the twins really are rubbing off on me?_

She shook the thought from her head and finished putting on the dark blue ripped capris that Hikaru and Kaoru had insisted she wear at least once during the trip. They were notably worth more than she cared to know, and she wasn't about to ask about the price. Tossing on a green loose fitted t-shirt and grabbing her keys, she made her way back into the chaos that was erupting from the living room.

"Do you think that's fair?!" Kaoru held Hikaru back as he shouted at Kyoya who was being forced to sit down by a red faced Tamaki.

Haruhi paused and leaned back towards the wall trying to appear as small as physically possible.

"I do think it's fair. She's our ace in the hole. No one actually knows who she is, she's quiet and to be honest I'd say she's the most forgettable out of all of us! Aside from maybe Mori except no one forgets him because he's a giant!" Kyoya spat.

Haruhi's face went sullen as the words passed from Kyoya's mouth. She could feel her body begin to tremble and wasn't quite sure if it was from rage or being hurt. In a blink of an eye Haruhi was across the room and standing in front of Kyoya. Her hand swung out resounding in an audible _thwack_ against his cheek.

Everyone in the room stood still and silent as Haruhi whispered something to Kyoya then backed out of the room. Her footsteps echoed throughout the hallway as she hurried out the front door.

"Do you see what you just did?" Hikaru yelled again but his words fell on deaf ears as Kyoya stood and walked out of the house after Haruhi.

Takashi, Honey, and Tamaki each stood in silence, unsure how to proceed. Tamaki wondered if he should follow Kyoya but sat down instead. Both Hikaru and Kaoru opened their phones and pulled up Haruhi's location. It was moving at relatively fast pace, yet they were still unsure as to where exactly she was headed.

"She might be going towards the airport?" Kaoru offered his best guess but Hikaru shook his head.

"She's pissed, not complacent." Hikaru paced next to his twin.

Honey and Takashi gave one another a look and Takashi made his way to the small stalls that made up a garage. The others waited in the living room like statues until Takashi returned.

"She took the car." He exhaled causing everyone's heads to turn.

" _Which_ car?" Tamaki asked jumping up to his feet.

Takashi rubbed the back of his neck and sighed. "Your Porsche."

Tamaki's face paled at the thought of Haruhi driving in his most beloved possession. Hikaru and Kaoru blanched at the thought of Haruhi driving something that had a top speed of almost 200 mph. In a split second everyone was heading into the garage.

Hikaru and Kaoru split up keeping track of Haruhi's movements on their phones. Tamaki followed Kaoru while Takashi got in the car with Hikaru. Honey paused amidst the calamity and decided it was best if at least one person stayed at the house in case she came back. Once everyone was in agreement and synced via Bluetooth in their cars, they roared the engines to life and pulled out into the streets.

Takashi and Hikaru pulled ahead in Takashi's black Maserati while Kaoru followed closely in his Aston. The two cars dotted the streets like black shadows.

"We're going to head east and circle around. It looks like she heading towards what could possibly be a café?" Kaoru filled the cars' speakers and Honey's phone from where he stood still in the living room of the house.

"We'll head around the opposite direction and meet you there, keep your eyes out for Kyoya's car," Hikaru replied from the their end.

A chortle came through everyone's speakers as Kaoru laughed out loud, "Like anyone could miss it!"

Tamaki glared at the redhead but Honey broke the awkward silence giving a chuckle at Kyoya's expense. Tamaki rolled his eyes and crossed his arms in a huff. The lines went dead and they split up keeping their eyes peeled as they rolled through the streets of Barcelona.

* * *

Haruhi's eyes pooled with tears as she threw the car into drive. She pressed on the accelerator and continued down the road until the beach house faded behind her. The blur of her surroundings quickly faded as she slowed the car and hit the beautiful and colorful buildings of the inner city. It was as if she had entered another world. Her phone vibrated in her lap and she hit the green icon, then put it on speaker.

"What?" she snapped.

"Before you hang up, meet me at Café Magnifico."

Haruhi clenched the wheel, "Fine."

* * *

 _A/N: Leave a review if you'd like. Thank you for reading. Kay bye ^-^_


End file.
